100 Themes of Dragon Ball Z
by This One Writer
Summary: Just as the title implies, this is the 100 themes challenge using a variety of characters from the Dragon Ball Z universe (I only listed 3 of the many characters). The challenge is just a series of oneshots, each written with a specific theme in mind. Also, a brief description of the setting will be given before each chapter. All pairings will be canon! Please read and enjoy! :)
1. Love

**Hello to those of you who are reading this! The 100 themes challenge is not one linear story, but more of a collection of 100 drabbles/oneshots using a variety of characters. I should probably warn you now that I'm not promising frequent updates (I'll only post on the occasion that I've written one). This is mainly a way for me to get my creative juices flowing because I'm in the process of writing a full story that I hope to eventually publish on this account.**

**Anyway, I'm also kind of cheating a little bit with this challenge. I'm going to do it a little out of order from the list that I'm using. According to that list, number 1 is "Introduction," but I wanted to start with "love". I figure that it really doesn't matter the order because it isn't linear anyway.**

**With that said and done, please enjoy! Also, feel free to follow/favorite/review! :)**

* * *

Theme #18: Love

_(The Briefs' house, before the Majin Buu saga.)_

People say the phrase, "I love you," in many different ways. Some people aren't as straightforward as others may be. They often profess their love in the actions they do or the little things they say. "This made me think of you," "Wear this tie instead," or even "Watch your step," are just a few of the ways some people can do this.

To a man raised not only as one of the elite Saiyan warriors, but also as a Saiyan prince, love seemed to be somewhat of a foreign concept. Bulma had taken him to plenty of ridiculous, as they are often called, "chick flicks," but the characters on the screen never seem to really convey to Vegeta what true love was.

Yet here it was, a simple Saturday afternoon, and the woman (whom he supposedly "loved") was talking on the telephone once again. He never really understood why, but Earth women seemed to enjoy long conversations using these telecommunication devices. On planet Vegeta, women (just like the men) only used the scouters' communicators for work related conversation.

"Sounds like a plan! Goodbye!" Bulma said, finally hanging up the phone.

"Who was that?" Vegeta asked quickly.

She smiled. "I didn't realize you were still there, Vegeta! Anyway, that was Chi-Chi. I was just calling her because I thought it had been way too long since we've seen their family! I invited them over for the afternoon, but Chi-Chi said she was too busy with the housework as always. However, Gohan and Goten were thrilled to hear this, and they will be coming over."

"The sons of Kakarot, in my house?!" he exclaimed.

She rolled her eyes at him. "First of all, this isn't your house! It isn't even mine; it's my parent's! Second of all, _grow up!_ They're really nice kids and-"

"Mom! Mom!" the young Trunks yelled as he ran into the room his parents were conversing in. "Did you say that Gohan and Goten are coming over?!"

The blue-haired woman placed her hands on her hips. "Oh, so you can hear me casually mention that, but you can't hear me yell at you for leaving your dirty laundry on the bathroom floor?"

Trunks shuffled his feet and looked at the ground. "Well, I... You know, I just remembered I need to, uh, go do something upstairs!"

Bulma looked at Vegeta and placed her hands on her hips. "He certainly is your son. Especially when it comes to not picking up the laundry left on the bathroom floor."

"Since when is it my responsibility?!"

"They are your clothes, you know!"

"Is an Earth woman's job not to look after the men? I think cleaning up my messes is included in that description!"

"You've got that all wrong, I'm afraid! My job is _not_ to clean up after you!" She let out a huff of air. "In any case, I expect you to be on your best behavior when the boys come over, okay?"

Vegeta bore some of his teeth angrily. "I'm not a child! You don't need to 'correct my behavior'! I am perfectly capable of being a responsible adult!"

"Really? Because that's not what the laundry on the floor is telling me!" she spat back.

Vegeta sighed and gave in, his tone softening. "Do you want me to pick it up now?"

"Yes please!" Bulma cheerfully said, calming down too.

Not too long after the argument was over, Vegeta finally made an effort to pick up his laundry. After he had finished doing so, he went upstairs to find that Trunks had just finished the same task.

He was going to make an offer to his son. "Trunks, how would you like to train with me in the front yard for a short time. This will only be until Kakarot's sons arrive, but it will give the both of us something to do in the mean time."

Trunks's face brightened. "Really? Oh boy! I'm so excited! I love training with you, Dad!"

Vegeta was struck by the use of that word. Love. Here it was in a different context than the typical, "I love you," yet it seemed to still have a strong positive connotation to it. Here, it seemed to mean "to like a lot." Perhaps that was what it meant when a human loved somebody. They "liked them a lot"?

He shrugged it off, and the two walked outside on the Briefs' property. "What would you like to start with today? Sit-ups? Push-ups? Running laps around the house?"

Trunks was surprised that his dad was actually letting him make this choice. Usually it was his father that decided the order of doing things. "Can we do a few laps around the house first?"

He nodded. "That sounds fine. Try to keep up if you can!" Then he took off, waiting for his son to make some sort of brash comment in return.

As if on cue, Trunks shouted, "I bet that I'll be right next to you the whole time, or maybe I'll even be ahead!" He took off right after he said that.

Nine out of the ten laps through, Vegeta nearly ran Bulma over as she was coming outside. However, he saw her in just enough time to come to enough of a stop and only lightly bump into her. She still fell over though and wasn't too happy about it either.

"Watch it, Vegeta!" she shouted at him as she stood up.

He was about to take off running again, but he decided to stay behind and have a word with his woman. "It's not my fault you interrupted my exercise!"

She crossed her arms and made a face. "I just wanted to watch you and Trunks train before the boys arrive!"

"You have no need to get involved in our training sessions," he told her. "Just leave before you get in the way again!"

"No!" she told him. "No one bosses me around except for me! I enjoy watching the two of you train, and so I will stay!"

He shook his head but didn't want to argue anymore. "Whatever. Just don't blame me if you get hurt. That's all."

Bulma wondered if this was Vegeta's vague, yet rather rude, way of expressing his concern for her. The Saiyan man never seemed to be too expressive when it came to his emotions, aside from anger and hatred, so when he curtly made statements like this, it appeared that he was genuinely making an effort to show his care.

"Haha!" Trunks yelled as he ran up to his parents. "I beat you, Dad! While you were talking to Mom, I ran ahead and so I beat you! Take that!"

Vegeta turned to his son. "That doesn't really count because I was talking to your mother. If I had actually done my best, you would have eaten so much of my dust, you probably would have choked!"

"Aw man!" Trunks exclaimed. "You never let me win anything!"

"If I simply just 'let you win,' do you think that would help you get any stronger?"

"No..."

"Correct! Now let's begin the second round of our warm-ups."

Trunks suddenly grabbed his crotch. "Actually...I, uh, really need to pee first!"

"So what are you doing standing around here for?!" Vegeta yelled. "Go to one of those bushes over there!"

Bulma was flabbergasted, but Trunks ran off anyway. "What are you doing teaching our son that it's okay to pee on the property?! He's going to turn out as obnoxious and naive as Goku was if he doesn't have any good influences in his life!"

A familiar-looking yellow nimbus cloud swooped down from the sky and on to the Briefs' property. Goten and Gohan hopped off of the cloud and strolled over to where the adults were talking.

"Hey guys!" Gohan gave a friendly greeting, then his face scrunched up in confusion. "Is that Trunks peeing in the bushes over there...?"

Vegeta snorted. "Apparently that's not okay." He ignored the funny look from Gohan. "I thought it was more acceptable than going to the edge of the property and peeing in the street though!"

The woman rolled her eyes. "One day we'll figure out how things work around here. In the mean time, I was just saying how Trunks needed some good influences, and I think that you, Gohan, are the perfect role-model."

Vegeta a rolled his eyes at that last statement, and added under his breath so no one could hear, "That makes sense. Have the son of Kakarot influence our child to not become like Kakarot."

Trunks happened to return from his bathroom trip in time to hear the latter half of his mom's words. Not so quietly, he whispered, "But Mom, Gohan's a nerd!" Then he noticed his best friend standing next to him. "Goten! You'll be a good influence, right?"

"Yep!" Goten agreed. "I'll make sure you don't get into any trouble next time when you're peeing in the bushes!"

Bulma facepalmed, but Gohan just laughed and said, "They certainly make an interesting duo! Just imagine them combined into one being!"

Gesturing for Vegeta and Gohan to follow her to the lawn chairs, she walked across the yard as the two children began to run around. "I'd rather not, actually." She smiled at the teenage Saiyan. "So Gohan, you seem to get taller and more handsome every time I see you!"

He gave an awkward laugh and rubbed the back of his head. "You really think so?"

"Definitely!" she remarked.

"Why are you telling the boy such ridiculous things!" Vegeta suddenly outburst.

She furrowed her brows. "Is it illegal to give the young man a compliment? Geez! You are too uptight sometimes!"

"It just sounded like a little too much flattery," he tried to justify. "That's all."

Bulma shook her head and silently asked how she ended up with such a man. "Are you trying to imply that I was being a creep and was _flirting_ with the boy?! I would never do that! You are such a jealous man!"

"I am not jealous!"

"Really? Then what was that last episode about?"

"I don't like it when you give your attention to...other guys!"

"That's called being jealous, Vegeta! That's definitely jealousy! He's practically a kid, and you're a full-grown man! I'm completely devoted to you, so what more do you need me to say?" She let out a large breath. "You are one moronic, thick-headed piece of muscle sometimes, I swear!"

Bulma cleared her throat then turn back to Gohan. "Sorry about that. Anyway, do you have anything exciting happening in your life?"

He thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "Actually, wait! I am going to be going to public high school this next school year! It's not exactly what I was planning on doing with my time, but I'm kind of being forced too..."

"Ooh! High school!" Bulma cheered, getting suddenly excited. "I'm sure you'll love it! You'll probably meet lots of pretty young girls who take an interest in you too, so don't be afraid to ask some of them out!" She got a dreamy look in her eyes. "I always thought that I would meet the perfect man in my schooling days and then marry him!"

"Really?" Gohan asked. "I'm pretty sure most of us thought that you were going to marry Yamcha!"

"Myself included," Vegeta even added.

She didn't seem to like the sound of that. "I had those fantasies _before_ I met Yamcha!" In a lower tone, she then continued. "And I knew that I was never marrying that guy because he was not husband-material."

Gohan looked over from Vegeta back to Bulma then back to Vegeta. He wondered if she realized who the man seated next to her even was. He had always questioned their relationship actually, wondering how it came to be. And even though they say opposites attract, he didn't find it too unusual that the two most hot-headed of the group found their way to each other. It also helped that he was living in her house.

Bulma's attention went back to the original conversation. "How's your mom doing? I just talked to her on the phone and she said she's been fine, but how has she _really_ been doing?"

"Are you talking about with Dad being gone?" Gohan asked. He sighed. "It's actually been pretty okay. Grandpa has stayed with us to help out, so that's been nice. But yeah, it really has been 'fine'. I guess we're all adjusted to it now though, after several years have gone by."

Vegeta cleared his throat. "Kakarot-"

"I don't know what you're going to say," Bulma interrupted, "but I do not want to hear it anymore! Why couldn't this stupidly rivalry between you two have just died with him?"

He smirked at her. "I was actually going to say that Kakarot would be disappointed with how his son has slacked off with his training."

Gohan shrunk in his seat. "Well...things have been peaceful, and I've been studying and helping Mom out and stuff. It's not that big of a deal. I would like to think that my father appreciates my willingness to be a productive member of society."

"Lame!" Trunks teased on cue as he chased Goten around the yard and heard that last part of the grown-ups conversation.

"Those boys are getting out of control!" the blue-haired mother commented. "I think I just need a break though..."

Gohan saw the stressed out woman and the opportunity to help that came with her. "I can watch the two little rascals for you! I'm sure your parents are busy with other things, and you guys need a break, so I'll do it! You can go out on a date or something!"

Bulma stood up and looked at Vegeta who had his arms crossed. "What do you think? Gohan is a pretty responsible young man. I could go for a movie."

He stood up and looked at his woman with a strange expression on his face. "You really think Gohan is that capable?"

She nodded. "Definitely. I mean, think about it. He has the strength of a Saiyan like you, and a brilliant mind like mine, although not quite all the other traits of a genius such as myself. If anyone can handle it, it's gotta be Gohan." She turned to the young man. "We'll even pay you."

He laughed at her offer. "No thanks! I'm more than happy to just do this out of the kindness of my heart!"

Bulma looked at Vegeta. "What do you say? A movie? A coffee? Shopping? Something else?"

"Fine. A movie sounds nice," he answered. "But I refuse to sit through another lovey-dovey chick flick! I want something with lots of violence and action! Like that movie about the guy who has to take on an entire army and an evil overlord just to defend his planet!"

She rolled her eyes. "That doesn't sound familiar at all... But do you think I should wear this dress or something else?"

"You look like the daughter of a rich, corporation-owning man in that."

"I am the daughter of a rich, corporation-owning man!"

"I know. I'm just saying that it suits you. Don't change it." He rolled his eyes. "I guess this means that I might have to change too?"

Bulma nodded quickly. "I know you didn't train for all that long, but I still do not want to be seen in public with a man in sweaty, stinky training gear."

He sighed. "What should I wear?"

"Hmm..." she thought about it. "Some dark jeans and one of your button-downs should work nicely. That way you're not too dressy, but you still look like you have some class." She took another second. "Actually, wear your forest green button-down. It makes your biceps look nice."

Just as Vegeta was about to trot off to change, Bulma called after him. "Vegeta! Wait! ...Are you going to hold my hand during the scary parts of the movie? And let me rest my head on your shoulder?"

"Earthlings and their stupid customs," he muttered. "Well, your hair does smell like strawberries, so I can allow it this once..."

She cheered and hugged him, even though he didn't appear to be too receptive. She looked behind her and realized that Gohan was not with them anymore, but that he was already with the younger children. "I love you, Vegeta."

That word. That phrase. He never knew just what to do when she said that, which frankly wasn't all that often. "I- I have feelings of appreciation for you too, Bulma." It didn't quite fit what he was trying to say, but it seemed to get the point across.

The two said goodbye to the children and Gohan, who even though he was playing with the kids, overheard their small conversation. Bulma thanked him once more and then they went inside so that Vegeta could change.

"Did our dad and Mom argue like Trunks's do?" Goten stopped his playing to ask his brother.

Gohan smiled. "Well, not quite in the same way. Our mother yelled at Dad a lot, but Dad was just doing what he did best. He was being himself. Our parents loved each other very much though."

Trunks made some sort of snorting sound. "My parents don't. Dad has never even said 'I love you' once."

The eldest of the boys shook his head. "Your parents are a very happy couple, and you're wrong about the 'I love you' thing. Your dad has said it plenty of times, and your mom too actually. You just weren't listening hard enough."

* * *

**And that concludes the first theme that I've written. I've been watching the Team Four Star DBZ abridged series over again (this time with my brother), and I just find it so funny! I threw in a reference to the very first episode, so if you spotted it, kudos!**

**-TOW**

**P.S. Even though this isn't a full-blown story, reviews/follows/favorites are all still appreciated!**


	2. A Place to Belong

**Here's a chapter about Gohan and Videl! :D By the way, if you happen to not like some of these pairings, go ahead and follow the story anyway and just skip the chapters that you don't wanna read! Because it's a collection of oneshots, there still might be something else out there for you! Right now, I'm starting with a few romance ones, but soon there will be other kinds of oneshots too! :) Enjoy!**

* * *

Theme #81: A Place to Belong

_(The Briefs' nature reserve, a year or so after the defeat of Majin Buu)_

Videl looked at the people around her. They were laughing and talking and eating loudly. Everyone was celebrating and having a good time. And it _was_ a good time. She just felt a little...insecure around all these people sometimes.

Up until fairly recently, she lived her life thinking she was the second strongest in the world, just beneath her father. Then with that whole "Great Saiyaman" incident, she met Gohan, and she learned she was nowhere near the strongest. Even with his flight and ki coaching, she knew she would never be able to measure up to all of these people around her. It always made her feel a little out of place.

She had confessed these feelings to Gohan once or twice before, and he just smiled and said, "Don't worry abut it! There's no need to compare yourself to the others! You are an amazing person! If it makes you feel any better, I probably won't be able to reach the same level as some of these people anymore either!" Then he would laugh and rub the back of his neck.

The words themselves weren't all that much comforting, but Videl did find comfort in the fact that her boyfriend loved her the way she was. Except he wasn't her boyfriend anymore. They were now tied together by the most official bonds of love; marriage. In fact, it was right now in the Briefs' nature reserve at their wedding reception that she was beginning to have all these doubts again.

"What's wrong?" Gohan asked, suddenly sitting beside her.

She shook her head and looked at the ground. "It's nothing. You should go back to talking with Krillin."

He grabbed her hand. "I'm done talking with Krillin. Now I'm with you. What's wrong?"

She shook her hand out of his grip and held in a sigh. "I told you. It's nothing. I just would rather have gone home than have come to this silly reception. I mean, we're married now, so why do we have to celebrate it with all these people?"

"These guys are my friends, and they really are great people. Some of them are kind of strange at first, but at heart, every single one of these guys cares about us. That's why they showed up in the first place!" He stood up with a cheery smile and offered her a hand.

Videl turned him down. "I think I'll just stay here. You should talk to them. They are _your_ friends after all."

He looked down at her with a sad expression. "Is this about you feeling out of place again? I promise you, these guys won't even care whether you're strong or not! Heck, Bulma's not even a fighter! If anything, they'll look up to you for coming so far and even learning how to fly!"

"But-"

"Shh. Don't doubt yourself! You may not be the strongest in the room, it's true, but neither am I! And I'm not letting that get me down. Videl, this is our wedding reception. It's supposed to be full of good times and celebration, not second thoughts about how we compare to the others around us. I love you, and that's all that matters. I think you should try and interact with some of these people and just enjoy yourself a little more!" He ended by offering his hand to her again.

She grabbed onto his hand and stood up. She glanced around nervously. Everyone was talking loud and eating a lot. Her father was even enjoying himself, perhaps a little too much. If her father could have a good time, then she could too. Gohan was right. This is her wedding reception, and she's supposed to enjoy it!

He gave her a comforting smile as they walked up to Krillin, Yamcha, and Tien who were all talking very loudly. They got a little quieter as the newly wedded couple approached them.

"There she is!" Krillin exclaimed. "We were just talking about how you disappeared at your very own reception!"

She tried to fake a similar enthusiasm. "I was actually just sitting over there! I was just thinking about how nice it was for the Briefs to let us use their nature reserve."

Yamcha grinned. "We always come here for pretty much any social event, but yeah, I guess it is pretty nice of them!"

"Videl, have you even gotten anything to drink?" Krillin asked. "It's your own reception, you should relax! You look so tense!" He laughed loudly, and she wondered if _he_ had a little too much to drink. "I can't believe that you and Gohan got married before Yamcha did!"

Yamcha frowned. "Tien's not married either."

Tien tried to back out. "Hey! I'm not the one who had an on-and-off girlfriend for years, and then she suddenly decided to ditch me for an alien."

Krillin laughed loudly. "Don't worry, Yamcha! Sometimes being married isn't as easy as you think it should be." He turned to the couple. "Yep. From experience, I can tell you that there will definitely be moments where you completely hate each other!"

"I heard that," 18 said, walking up behind him and giving him a light bonk on the head.

He rubbed his head and frowned. "Hey! It's true though! We have some pretty rough arguments, but in the end, we still love each other. Right babe?"

"Krillin, just how many drinks have you had?"

"I dunno. A couple? Heh. Couple...like the two people that got married."

She rolled her eyes. "He's an idiot." Then she looked directly at Videl. "It's true that you'll go through some rough times, but that's just a part of marriage. Having doubts about everything is normal, just don't let Krillin's stupidity scare you too bad. In the end, it's with each other that you belong." She looked over at her drunken husband and gave a small smile as she shook her head at his behavior.

Videk was genuinely surprised at the android's words. 18 had dragged Krillin out of the conversation at this point, but her words still rang through Videl's ears. For someone who wasn't fully human, she certainly understood human emotions and knew just what to say. Although it might have just come from 18 scanning her emotions, the words actually did comfort Videl quite a bit. She was beginning to feel much better about her company.

She knew that she loved Gohan and wanted to be with him, but she was definitely still having some doubts about being surrounded by all these other people. _"It's with each other that you belong."_ She realized that it didn't matter so much that she was surrounded by the others because she had Gohan, whom she could always rely on and listen to.

Videl admitted to herself that Android 18 had been one of the more intimidating people of the group, but now she was feeling a lot better about her after those simple words of encouragement. Perhaps if 18 wasn't all that bad, maybe Gohan was right about the rest of them too. She should have listened to her husband sooner, but she was still learning how marriage worked. After all, it was only a few hours ago that the official ceremony took place.

She had found a place to belong within Gohan, so it was possible that she could find a place to belong within the entire gang. She just had to trust what Gohan believed about his friends. Just as he told her earlier, it shouldn't matter how different she was. If they really were as good of people as he said they were, they wouldn't mind her at all. She was determined to become an official part of the group.

"What do you want to do?" he asked her softly. "I'm not going to make you talk with all these people if you're still not comfortable in their company."

She smiled a little. "How else am I supposed to get comfortable with their company except for talking with them?"

She laced her fingers through his as she worked up the nerve to socialize with the strongest people in the world. She was just about to join the large and loud group gathered at the picnic table full of food when she noticed someone else sitting all alone under a tree.

"You should go join them," she told Gohan. "I'll be over in a sec."

She walked over to the strange green creature resting under the tree. What was he? A Namekian or something? It didn't matter what he was, just who he was. And he was Piccolo. Videl had been very intimidated by him at first, but she had learned about how much Gohan respected him.

Videl didn't really know what she was going to say to him. "He really looks up to you, you know. Even now as an adult."

Piccolo opened one eye slowly, then the other. "I was his first real teacher. Goku never could teach him to fight because Chi-Chi was so strict on that kid."

"If it weren't for you, he would never have become the fighter that stopped Cell for good in the end though. I feel like I owe you my thanks." She sat down next to him.

He smiled a little. "Nobody owes me anything. It was that kid who changed my heart for the better. If anything, I owe him something."

"You weren't always one of the good guys, right?"

"Not even close. I had tried to fulfill my father's evil desires and wanted to destroy Goku. We had an epic battle once, and just when he should have killed me, he showed mercy and let me escape. I thought him to be a fool for the longest time. I wanted to train harder and grow stronger to defeat him, but the Saiyans showed up and kept me from seeking my rematch."

"I remember Gohan telling me about the Saiyans before. First a man named Raditz who kidnapped him as a small boy. He said that he was so scared, but you guys defeated that man. Then two more came. He even told me that one of them was Vegeta."

He nodded and smiled. "It's true. Vegeta was also one of the villains for a while. Most of us were at some point actually. Yet even with all these different backgrounds, we've all somehow managed to come together and accept one another."

She felt a lot better about the green man. His words were comforting to hear. The more and more she was talking to people, the more and more accepted she felt. It was very consoling, and she was grateful for it.

Just as she stood up, thanked him for his words, and began to walk away, he stopped her. "Videl. Be good to Gohan for me. I trust that you will."

"I will," she said with a nod. Then she ran up to the large group of people where Gohan was.

"You went to talk to Piccolo?" he asked with surprise.

"Yeah. He doesn't seem as intimidating one-on-one."

He laughed. "No one here is. With the exception of Vegeta maybe. But even he's not all that bad once you get to know him!"

Vegeta scoffed, overhearing that comment. "You hardly even know me then! I am not as soft as the rest of you! Now hand me that ham, Kakarot!"

Videl always found it strange that he referred to Goku as Kakarot, but her father-in-law never seemed to mind. He just laughed a little and held up the ham. "What, this ham? No can do! It's all mine!"

Vegeta let out a huff of air. "Hand it over or I swear-to-Dende I'll-"

"Catch!" Goku shouted as he threw the ham in Videl's general direction. She wasn't the one who was supposed to catch it though. Gohan did, who was standing right beside her. They were both a little unsure of what to do now.

"So the kid can catch a ham, but not one petty little earring?" Vegeta taunted as he walked toward him.

"Shots fired!" Krillin yelled from somewhere in the distance. 18 rolled her eyes.

"Not so fast! Back to you, Dad!" Gohan held tightly onto the ham before sending it back to his father. He made sure that Vegeta didn't get a hold of it. Now his hands were all gross though...

Goku caught it and cheered. "For once, I don't think I even want to eat this one! I just want to see how long we can keep it away from Vegeta!"

The prince of all Saiyans growled. They were making a fool out of him! "Give me that ham!" He jumped over the table and ran toward Goku, who had already thrown the ham again, except this time toward Krillin.

His reactions were slowed because of the alcohol in his system, and the ham hit the ground hard only after bouncing off of Krillin himself. 18 facepalmed throughout the entire ordeal. "Don't try to get a drunk man to catch anything!"

Vegeta rushed over to where they were standing at and tried to pick up the ham for himself. 18 beat him to it and used her extremely fast reflexes to quickly kick it over to Trunks. She smiled and received quite a bit of pleasure from keeping it away from him actually.

"You kicked it to my _son_?" He laughed. "Smart move, rust bucket!"

"You take that back!" Krillin exclaimed. "Or- Or- Or I'll fight you!" 18 lightly whacked the back of his head to remind him that he was in no condition to fight. She didn't care about his stupid insults anyway.

Trunks had actually caught the ham and wasn't sure what to do with it. He could give it to his father, or he could keep the game going. In a weird way, he kind of liked seeing his father's pride get hurt though. But he didn't have much time, and he needed to make up his mind.

Vegeta slowly approached his son as if Trunks were a rabid dog. "Come on, son. Just give me the ham. If you do, we can go to the park or something."

"Don't listen to him!" Goten yelled far off in the distance. "Throw it over here!"

Without even really thinking, Trunks threw the meat far into the distance where Goten caught it. Vegeta tried to dive for the ham, but his timing was way off. Everyone laughed as he fell flat on his face.

"This is not funny!" Vegeta shouted in frustration as he picked himself back up.

Gohan decided to tease him a little. "What? You can't catch one petty little ham?"

The laughter roared, and Videl lightly nudged her husband, though a bit amused. She soon found herself laughing along too, especially when Krillin shouted, "Roasted!" 18 whispered something softly into Marron's ear. No one heard except for the little girl, but she said, "Your father is going to be in big trouble when we get home."

Even Bulma joined in on the fun to tease her husband. "It's like a giant game of monkey in the middle, with an actual monkey in the middle!"

Everyone laughed even harder and Vegeta's face flushed. "Shut up, woman! You don't know what you're talking about! If I really wanted the ham, I would have it right now!"

"That's bull crap!" she yelled back at him. "Everyone here knows this is a pride thing. I don't really think that you can catch the ham!"

He growled and grumbled some before storming over to where Goten was in the distance. Goten had thrown the ham again though. "Catch Videl!"

Videl froze. Everyone was counting on her to catch it. It was like the world was in slow motion. The ham was hurtling slowly through the air toward her as Vegeta had slowly spun on his heels to chase after it. Then a miracle happened, and she actually had caught it. But what to do now? Vegeta was approaching quickly and-

"Over here Videl!" Goku shouted from across the picnic table.

Vegeta was practically right in front of her, but she somehow managed to throw the ham around him. Except, because she had to aim around him, her trajectory and distance wasn't the greatest. Vegeta made a quick dive to catch the meat and he did...but flopped on top of the table in the process.

The man may have been small, but with the force he used to catch the ham and dive, the picnic table snapped in half, and the rest of the dishes splattered everywhere, covering Vegeta. Everyone laughed and cheered despite the giant mess. Videl felt the need to apologize, and she did, but nobody seemed to even mind. Only her father, who had seen it all, simply just raised his brows.

Out of pure frustration, the Saiyan stood up from the table mess and threw the ham high in the air. Then he shot a ki blast at it, so he would never have to deal with the humiliation that meat had caused him again. He brushed himself off as best as he could.

Oolong squealed. "My kin! Now look at what you've done!"

Vegeta rolled his eyes and began to walk out of the nature reserve. "Whatever. We were probably just going to eat it anyway, pork chop."

He exited the room and Bulma looked out after him. "I should probably go...help him." She ran off too.

"Nice one, Videl!" Yamcha said with a pat on her back.

She gave a confused grin. "Yeah... What about the rest of the food and the table?"

"Who cares?" Gohan told her. "We've made our wedding day one to remember, right?"

She smiled and gave him a quick kiss, semi-embarrassed about doing it in front of everyone. Chi-Chi hugged onto Goku and couldn't believe that her little baby had finally grown up and found such a nice girl to settle down with. It was as if it were just yesterday when he began to talk and read.

"This is certainly one day to remember," Videl told him with a sly smile.

He furrowed his brows. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

She placed her hands behind her back and walked backwards to where the table was...or used to be. "No reason." She quickly bent down and placed her hands in the mashed potatoes, and then she flung some at Gohan, who was still in his nice tux.

"Hey! Why'd you do that?" He wasn't upset though. He just smiled and laughed as the potatoes dripped off of his suitcoat.

She grinned. "Just making it a day to remember!" Then with another laugh she flung some more food at him. "And if we're throwing ham, we may as well throw other foods as well!"

"Oh I see how it is!" he ran up to the table and dipped his hands in the gravy, splashing it on Videl's white wedding dress.

"That was her mother's..." Mr. Satan said softly to nobody in particular.

She yelled in surprised and laughed with him. She threw some more food at Gohan, who then threw some at Goku. Only moments later, a full-blown food fight was occurring and everyone, except for Piccolo who was still at the tree and Bulma and Vegeta who were inside, was throwing food and getting messy.

"Oh sure," Oolong said with his usual attitude. "It's fine to have a food fight now, but when I try to have one earlier, it's not acceptable!"

Even the old Master Roshi had joined in and flung something strange at the pig. "Stop being so bitter!"

"Throwing food," he grumbled. "Let's throw shade too. Let's throw me under the bus. Let's throw up. Let's throw down. Let's just throw everything that we can." He kept grumbling under his breath, but he still participated in the fight.

Everyone was having a fun and messy time, and then Bulma and Vegeta walked out of the house together. "Alright guys," she said. "Vegeta's all cleaned up now and is wearing a nice, new suit so-"

Everyone froze and stared at them. They blinked and stared back. Nobody made even the slightest move for the longest time. Videl was even beginning to wonder if she would be in trouble for starting all of this.

The silence broke when Trunks yelled, "Mom and Dad are clean! Get 'em!"

The food began to get thrown again, covering both Bulma and Vegeta in particular. "Well, so much for your new suit..."

And the laughter and good times continued to take place until Gohan scooped a mixture of foods off of Videl and threw it toward Piccolo. Quickly reacting, he swatted it away before it even hit him. Once again, everyone grew silent except for Krillin, who yelled, "Oh snap!"

Piccolo stood up from under the tree and walked over to the group of people. Videl began to worry. What would he do? She had just talked to him earlier and he seemed nice enough, but what if he was angry? There was absolutely no expression on his face, and he just stood in front of all of them.

"I didn't want to participate in your stupid games," he spat. "But since it was Gohan who threw it at me..." He smirked as he bent over and found a pie that was still somewhat contained in the tin. He marched over to his young friend and smashed the pie in his face.

Gohan was stunned for a second before he wiped the cream out of his eyes, then a smudge off of his cheek and placed his finger in his mouth. "Well, at least it tastes good!" Everyone began to laugh again, but no more food was thrown.

Videl walked up to her husband and kissed his pie-covered lips. "You're right! It does taste good!"

"EW! GROSS!" Goten shouted. "She kissed you _and_ ate what was on your face! That's DISGUSTING!"

"Shh," Chi-Chi told him. "They're married now. They can do whatever they want."

He wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, well you and Dad are married, and you guys never do that!"

The laughter continued a little longer until Chi-Chi cut them off. "Should we even attempt to eat the wedding cake? Where is it? Is it inside?"

Vegeta and Bulma shared a glance that didn't go unnoticed by Gohan. "What happened?" he asked slowly.

"I thought you were going to get it!" Bulma yelled at her husband.

"Me? Why would I get it?!" he shouted back.

"Because I asked you to!"

Videl spoke up. "It's fine, guys! We don't need a cake! If we had one, it would probably just get thrown in each other's faces anyway!" She smiled and looked over at Gohan, who was still trying to wipe off all of the pie.

"In that case, let's go straight to the dancing!" Bulma shouted. She ran inside to turn on the music.

The rest of the night was filled with loud laughter and crazy dancing. It got real when Goku challenged Vegeta to a dance battle. That man refused to lose anything. Their moves were ridiculous, which just made it all the more entertaining to watch.

They ended the night with a slow dance, and all the couples paired off. Gohan and Videl swayed lightly with the music. Neither of them were very graceful dancers, but that couldn't keep the smile off either of their faces.

He beamed brightly. "See? I told you they were all great people! Wasn't that fun?"

"Yeah," she said quietly. "It was. I take back everything that I said about not belonging earlier. This has definitely been the best day of my life."

They slowly drew closer into kiss. Videl smiled as she could still taste the pie on his lips. In the end, she had nothing to worry about. Everyone here was very accepting and didn't seem to mind at all that she was a little different than them. Everyone in this group was super unique in their own way anyway. Videl decided that she liked being here among all of her new friends.

She had finally found a place to belong. And what a strange, yet magnificent, place it was too.

* * *

**Wasn't that a fun little oneshot? I hope you guys enjoyed it!**** I can only hear the Team Four Star voices of certain characters...is anyone else the same? Especially with Goku and Krillin! Anyway, be sure to follow/favorite/review!**

**-TOW**

**P.S. I was actually planning on posting a Krillin/18 oneshot instead of this one, but there have been a few difficulties with it... Hopefully that will be the next one, but no guarantees! :)**


	3. Opportunities

**In honor of Valentine's Day an update! ****Okay, so I know that these oneshots are not usually supposed to be connected, but after realizing how long this one was going to be, I decided to do a 3 part mini-story. I plan on updating one part per day. :D**

**UPDATE: So, I'm not a big fan of how my "3 part mini-story" turned out, so feel free to just skip past this chapter and the next two for more interesting stuff! **

* * *

Theme #10: Opportunities

_(Kame house, a year or so after the Cell Saga.)_

Part 1: Day 1

Krillin sat alone at the table. He let out a gloomy sigh and stirred his glass of apple juice. He liked drinking juice. It made him feel like a kid again. Like he was staying at Kame house because he needed the training from Master Roshi, not because he needed a roof to live under, being unmarried, jobless, and lonely.

Not that staying here seemed to ever help his loneliness. Roshi almost always seemed to leave to go do "errands". For a hermit, he wasn't acting like it that much lately. He was probably out and about, trying to talk it up with some beautiful lady, yet here Krillin was sitting at the table all on his own.

It was pathetic really. Bulma tells him a lot that he needs to get out more often or else he'd end up all alone like the old turtle hermit himself. He tried "getting out" before too, but where was he supposed to go? A bar? A club? He was just never in the mood.

But there had been that one girl whom he was convinced that he was in love with. Perhaps it was the blonde-headed beauty that caused him to be in the state that he was in now. He had even confessed his feelings to Bulma about the android. Every single one of his friends knew that he was a bald, pathetic, little man who was head-over-heels for a woman who wasn't even human.

The phone started ringing and interrupted his dreary thoughts. He rushed over and picked it up to answer. "Hello?"

"Krillin! Is that you?" He could recognize Bulma's familiar voice anywhere. "I need you to come down to Capsule Corporation immediately!"

"What?" he asked, detecting the sense of urgency in his friend's voice. "What's wrong? What happened?"

Bulma laughed on the other end. "Nothing's wrong at all! An, uh, _opportunity_ came up, and I think you might want to be here to see it!"

He groaned loud enough so that she could hear with certainty how he felt about this. "You're trying to hook me up again?!"

"Come on! Give her a chance!"

"What?! Are you kidding?! Don't you remember what happened last time!"

"Okay, so maybe a double-date with Vegeta was a bad idea, but this isn't a date at all! She's at my house, and I think you should come to." She paused for a second. "And I'll do my best to keep Vegeta out of this..."

"Fine. I'll show up, say hello, then leave. Is that good enough for you?"

She laughed in a way that made Krillin think there was definitely something more to this story. "That'll work out nicely. In fact, maybe it'd be best if all you did was say hello!"

He was getting really frustrated. "Is it Marron?! Did you invite my ex over to your house?"

"I'm not going to say anything more!" she answered, making him even more frustrated with this. "Oh wait! Actually, I do have one more request!"

"What?" he asked impatiently.

"She doesn't know that you're coming over. I want you to make this seem as casual as possible. Anyway, use my back entrance to the lab. I'll be in there. See you in a little bit!"

Krillin hung up the phone and was practically growling. He did not want to see his ex-girlfreind Marron ever again! Bulma thought she was being so sneaky though... It made him pretty upset really. His friend knew what went down with Marron, and she knew where his emotions were now. He had moved on to someone else.

He sighed and put on some shoes. He did say that he would stop by. It would only be real quick anyway, and she said that that would be fine. So really...who was it going to hurt to pay his ex a little visit? He didn't have any feelings for her anymore, so it wouldn't even really affect him.

He could sit and whine in agony over his love for an android another day. Krillin made up his mind and decided to go after all. He went outside and took off in the direction of West City. This would just be a quick visit, so Master Roshi probably wouldn't even return before Krillin would anyway.

In almost no time at all, Krillin had arrived at the immense building known as the Capsule Corp. He landed on the grass gracefully and looked around. The sun was beginning to set, and it was getting close to dinner. Roshi would probably get home around 9. There was definitely enough time for this short visit.

_Bulma said to go in through the back entrance to the lab... _He walked around to the back, but not before noticing that there wasn't an extra car parked out front. _Funny. Maybe it's in the garage. _

He shook his head and knocked on the door. Bulma quickly answered with the weirdest grin on her face. "Great! You're here! Come on in!"

He looked around the lab area. It was kinda creepy being almost alone in such a large a large and drafty space with all the weird equipment lying around. A chill went down his spine. "What did you do? Build me a different android to love?"

She laughed. "Not quite! Here, take this." She placed some strange-looking tool in his hands. "I told her that in order to work on this project, I was waiting on someone to bring me another part. I totally lied though!"

He rolled his eyes. "It's no secret Bulma. I know that Marron's here. And I know that you're trying to-"

"Just go back to the front and casually act as if you're stopping by to drop this off! It's bound to work!" She was getting extremely excited about this.

None of the excitement rubbed off on Krillin as he sighed and left the lab through the back exit, only to walk around to the front again. He rang the doorbell to the house, and one of the Briefs' robots answered it and let him in. He decided to go along with the plan.

"Bulma!" he called as he strolled into the large entryway. "I have that...thing that you wanted me to bring over!"

The blue-haired genius ran into the more central living area just in front of the entrance. "Great! Can you bring it over here?"

He nodded and realized his friend was different than she has been a second ago. She now was wearing goggles on top of her head and had oil smudged on her cheekbone. It was as if she dressed herself up only to _appear_ as if she'd been working hard on some project.

Krillin walked through the entryway and over to where Bulma was standing in the central living room. He handed the tool over to her, then looked at one of the couches.

_Could- Could it be...?_ He stared at the woman on the couch, feeling a strange sensation in his heart (and his stomach). It was most definitely Android 18, looking as beautiful and apathetic as ever. He looked back to Bulma who was grinning like a mad scientist, which at this point, she was definitely getting close to being.

"Can I...have a word with you about this device? In the lab?" he asked his friend. Without even looking, he could almost feel 18's glare, which was practically penetrating his skin.

She nodded and led him to the lab, like an excited wolf-pup taking lead of the pack for the first time. "See? I told you that you wanted to come over this time!"

Krillin shook his head violently. "No! No way! I cannot be here right now!"

"What do you mean?" she asked him, a little confused. "Don't you 'love' her?"

"I- I guess so, but..." he dragged out the word as long as he could. "I am absolutely terrified! She's so beautiful, but she's also really scary! She's beautifully scary! Scarily beautiful!"

"This may be your once in a lifetime opportunity to talk to her again!" she told him. "I'm so tired of your mopey attitude! You just need to work up the nerve and talk to her! This isn't kindergarten, Krillin!"

"Maybe not kindergarten, but with the way you're playing matchmaker, it feels at least like seventh grade!" he spat.

She rolled her eyes. "Are you going to do it? Or not?"

He breathed. "I guess I will. What'll be my excuse to stay longer though?"

He could practically see the lightbulb brighten up above her head. "I know! It's almost dinner time, so how about I invite you to stay and eat with us?"

"Okay," he answered quietly.

The two of them walked back to the living room where the woman who was both Krillin's worst nightmare and best daydream sat in front of them. Bulma smiled at the guest. "So it looks like this device will help do the trick, but it'll take some time. Would you guys like to stay for dinner? It's getting late!"

He gave an awkward smile. "I would love to stay for dinner." _Time to acknowledge her._ "Are you planning on staying too, 18?"

She kept a blank face. "It kind of seems like I have to, since I'm too broken to go anywhere else."

Bulma was beaming. "Great! I'll go tell the chefs to prepare for two more!"

18 shook her head. "Have them prepare for one more. I don't need to eat, remember?"

She nodded and ran off to the kitchen. Now it was just Krillin and 18 awkwardly alone in the room together. He was no good at small talk, especially knowing that the person he'd be talking with is a deadly android. _But didn't she say she was broken...?_

"So, uh, what happened?" he asked slowly.

Her beautiful blue eyes were cold stones. "I'm not sure why it happened, but my energy supply started malfunctioning. Turns out, the storage tank for my energy supply is broken. I couldn't even fly here."

"Oh," he said. "I'm sorry to hear that."

An awkward silence filled the room as 18 glared at Krillin, and Krilin stared at his feet. He didn't know what to do or say now. And what was taking Bulma so long? Did it usually take this long? Was she using this as another "opportunity"? Was he just being overly nervous?

"Why did you happen to have the one tool that Bulma needed to create a new energy storage tank?" 18 asked, breaking the silence.

He laughed nervously. "Well, you see...that's a good question! I was at Kame house, and Master Roshi has the most random things sometimes!"

"Sounds like a lame excuse."

"I know."

"Why are you really here? Is it to see me?"

"Uhh... Actually..." _No sense lying anymore. She'd see right through it. _"Yes."

She made a grunting sound. "Of course you are, you pathetic little man."

"Hey! Watch the name calling!" he said, a little hurt. There was no way he had a chnace with her. No way at all.

"Whatever," was her only response.

Bulma walked in before things could get any worse. "Okay guys! I'm back! So it turns out the chefs were already preparing dinner, but they said there will be enough for one more. It'll be done in just a few minutes, so I'm gonna go grab Vegeta, Trunks, and my parents and be right back!"

_Don't leave me alone with her again,_ Krillin wanted to call out. It was too late. Bulma had left the room, and things were getting uncomfortable again. He didn't know what to do, so he sat in one of the couch cushions near 18, but not directly next to her. That would've been too weird.

"What have you been up to lately?" he questioned slowly. He was doing it! He was attempting small talk!

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing of any importance. Exploring the world a bit. Avoiding you guys."

"Looks like you weren't so lucky," he tried to joke with her.

"Apparently so," she said. "When my energy storage started acting up, I knew that coming here was my only option. There's no more Gero to rely on."

He sighed with relief. "Thankfully he's gone." She was glaring at him. "I mean, it's too bad he had to die... Haha. Even though you guys killed him..."

She stared at him oddly. "It's not bad at all that he's gone. There was a reason we killed him, you know. He was always threatening to power us off. Always trying to control us."

"I can't imagine you being the type to be controlled."

"I'm not. Neither is my brother. And that is why Dr. Gero is dead."

Krillin wasn't sure what to say next. "How have you enjoyed your new freedom?"

She looked him dead in the eyes, and he gulped. "I know what you're trying to do. Your small talk is just getting annoying. What you did for me was great, but there is no reason for you to be involved in my life anymore."

"Is there another guy?" he suddenly blurted.

"What?" she asked, not without staring at him like he was an idiot first, of course.

He felt himself get a little pink. "Well, um, did you meet another guy recently? Is that the reason you haven't said much about your life lately?"

Android 18 couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you joking? I don't have to tell you everything that happens in my life! You've got to be kidding me!"

"Well, is there...?"

"I'm a killer android with no home, no friends, and no money...except for the little that I robbed from a bank."

"You robbed bank?!"

"That's beside the point! What I'm trying to say is, do you really think that there is any guy who would want to be with me?!"

Krillin swallowed nervously. "Well, um, I don't see why not..."

"Do the words 'killer' and 'android' mean nothing to you?" she asked incredulously.

He shrugged. "I mean, you don't have to go flaunting that information around everywhere. Nobody would even know that you're an android. They'd just see you like a normal person."

She was surprised at his response. "You think so? And why's that?"

He could feel his face flush. "Because I see you as a normal person, and I already do know what you really are!"

Now it was Android 18's turn to be at a loss of words. She tucked her hair behind her ear. She knew that he had some sort of "thing" for her, but she never expected him to say anything like that. It made her wonder about where her feelings for him really were. He had helped her out so much. Maybe she shouldn't have been so cold to him earlier.

"That's probably the kindest thing anyone's ever told me," she said. "I appreciate your...words."

"Well," he began saying, "you know...it's true. You are beautiful and strong and independent and maybe you don't need a man, but I'm sure that if you really wanted, you could definitely find the perfect guy for you."

"Thanks, Krillin," she said in a somewhat kinder tone.

_Score! That was totally smooth! And now she doesn't seem to be as hostile. Maybe she'll want to talk to me more now._ He stopped his thoughts because Android 18 looked as if she were going to say something else. But her words never came because the two were interrupted by a loud Saiyan man and a blue-haired woman with a baby in her arms, walking into the room.

Dr. Brief and Mrs. Brief followed them, and the man waved to where Krillin and 18 were sitting. "Hello, Krillin! It's good to see your face around here again! Who's the pretty lady? A girlfriend?"

"Dad, no!" Bulma exclaimed. "They're not together! That's Android 18!"

He looked very surprised to hear that. "But didn't we design a remote to shut her down? Why is she here?"

Bulma sighed. "It's a long story, but the point is, 18's not one of the bad guy's anymore. She's here to get something fixed."

"I don't see why we're allowing that piece of scrap metal into this house," Vegeta spat. "She's probably plotting revenge or something!"

Android 18 stood up. "Revenge? Why would I even want revenge? All I want with you people is to get away from you! And the sooner my tank gets fibis he'd, the sooner I can get out of here."

Bulma looked around the room frantically. "Alright guys! I think it's time that we should go eat dinner, don't you agree?"

"Good," Vegeta stated. "I'm starving."

Everyone walked into the dining room, including 18 who wasn't even going to eat. The table was large enough to fit everyone at it. Little Trunks was placed in a booster seat next to Bulma. Krillin sat on the opposite side of the blue-haired mother and was surprised to see that 18 chose to sit next to him.

"Why is she eating with us?" Vegeta asked bluntly.

"I am not eating with you, I am simply sitting here because, unlike some people, I'm not trying to be rude." The blonde tucked a piece of hair behind one of her ears. Krillin heard irony ringing through her words.

The chefs came out with some large turkeys. 18 declined when they tried to serve her some, but everyone else dug in. Krillin enjoyed the meal that was prepared, and thought how sad it was that Android 18 would never be able to do the same.

Small table talk was made. Vegeta and Bulma argued about who was going to give the messy 2 year old half-Saiyan a bath later tonight. Dr. Brief conversed with 18 about her design and suggested improvements he could make. Mrs. Brief terrified Krillin with all of her awfully personal questions and creepy compliments she gave him. Then dinner time was all over.

It was time for Krillin to leave. He let out a sigh as he prepared to depart and to wish his love a goodbye. And...all the others that were there too of course. But a miracle happened! Another golden opportunity! A loud clap of thunder boomed outside and a flash of lightning shone through the windows.

"Krillin, sweetie," Mrs. Brief commented. "I don't think you should fly in this weather! It'd be awfully dangerous, and we wouldn't want you to get hurt!"

Krillin looked around the room of people. He noticed that 18 was holding a suitcase. "Yeah. It is kind of bad conditions for flying right now." He looked directly at Bulma. "Do you think I could spend the night? Roshi certainly won't be missing me."

"We've fit the entire Namekian population in here before," she told him. "Having two extra guests tonight will be no problem. Vegeta, can you show them where the guest rooms are?"

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Follow me."

"Thanks, honey!" she called after him. The two guests could have sworn they saw a faint glow of red brush Vegeta's cheeks, but it was hard to tell once they were walking behind him in a dark, winding hallway.

The hall seemed to be at a constant slope upward. It must have been part of the house's design to put the guest rooms on a second story without using stairs. So not only did they have to walk through a winding hallway in the dark, they also had to walk up at an angle. Krillin almost tripped a few times.

The irritated spiky-haired man let out a huff once they intersected with a different hall, this one straight and flat. "This whole hallway is filled with empty rooms. Feel free to pick whatever ones you want. If you need anything, don't bother me. Ask the woman."

Vegeta trotted off in the other direction and left 18 with her single suitcase and Krillin with absolutely nothing to be alone with each other once again. They stared at each other for a moment. Then they stared at the rooms. Then back to each other.

"So..." Krillin drew the word out. "Which one do you want?"

The android shrugged. "Doesn't matter to me. Just as long as I have somewhere to sleep."

"Androids...sleep...?" he asked with uncertainty.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes. Or at least _I_ have been programmed to. My system needs sometime to take a rest."

"I would have never known that," he commented. "Well, if you don't have a preference for a room, then I'll just take the one that's just right here."

"Okay," she said. "And I'll take the one next to it."

The android went into her room with her suitcase and shut the door, leaving Krillin in her dust. It had been a long day for her. It took too long to get here, and it was apparent that it would be taking even more time for her new storage tank to get built. At least she could now have some down time to herself.

She looked at the back of the bedroom. There were two large doors that led to a balcony outside. She walked over to them and opened it to go outside. Although it was raining, the area was covered by a roof, so she didn't have to worry about getting too wet. She looked further along the sides and realized that all of the guest rooms seemed to be connected to this balcony.

It was dark and rainy and perfect, but even though 18 enjoyed the view and weather, it was time for her to go back inside and check in with Bulma about the details of her new storage tank and how long it was going to take. She turned around and went back inside. She half-wondered if Krillin was still in his room, but then she realized that it shouldn't even matter to her.

She walked out of her temporary bedroom and down the hall to find the living room. Bulma was not there, but Vegeta sat on one the couches and watched TV as Trunks, still messy from dinner, practiced his walking around the room.

"Where's Bulma?" Android 18 asked the Saiyan prince.

Vegeta pointed to a hallway on the left side of him. "Down there. She's in the lab, probably working on your stuff. First door on your right."

She headed down to where he had gestured. After a short amount of walking, she found the first door to her right. The lab. She wanted to just waltz right in there and demand all the information up front, but something stopped her from doing so. Perhaps it was the voices she heard coming from the inside.

"And how much exactly have you talked to her?" Bulma's distinctive voice raised a question.

"Well, not that much, but she hates me! I swear!" Krillin's voice exclaimed. "She's always glaring at me like I did something wrong!"

They were talking about Android 18! She was curious and wanted to hear more of this conversation. Why were those two talking about her? Why wasn't Bulma working on the part for her?

"I don't think it's anything personal, I think it's just in her behavior. Her emotions are different than ours," she tried to explain. "Her emotions are based on a series of wires and genetically modified and enhanced hormones."

18 stiffened. Her emotions were real! She was sure of it. They certainly felt real at least. She felt real anger and hatred toward Cell. She felt real gratitude for Krillin. She didn't hate him. She didn't hate him at all! He was right for what he had said earlier today. He really was one of the few people who actually treated her as a normal person. He was the only person that made her feel...something a little bit different than the others.

But maybe Bulma was right about 18's emotions. That woman was the scientist after all. Maybe her emotions and feelings were not as real as she thought they were. Maybe that was why she didn't understand certain feelings. She shook her head. This was not the time to ponder the meaning of life. This was her opportunity to eavesdrop on a conversation about herself.

"Okay, fine," Krillin said. 18 wondered how much of the conversation she had zoned out for. "I'll talk to her again...eventually." Not much apparently.

The door began to open, and she stepped back, trying to appear as casual as possible. The short man jumped in the air. "Geez! You nearly gave me a heart attack! I wasn't expecting you to be...right there! You didn't hear anything, did you?"

"Hmm?" she casually asked. "Oh no. I just got here. I really need to talk to the one person around here who can actually do something relevant at the moment. The scientist."

"Actually, Dr. Brief is also-"

"Quiet, baldy. And move out of the way." She wasn't sure why she treated him like that. She had just admitted to herself that he was one of the few decent humans around here. She just wasn't sure what else to do.

She shoved her way past him, and found Bulma sitting at a table. "How long is it going to take for you to finish my new energy storage tank?"

"Well, I was hoping it wouldn't take too long since I already had the plans for your design from when we built the remote, but I don't know where they went. And it got deleted off my computer too!" She was bent over examining something though.

"What are you looking at now then?" 18 asked quickly.

She looked up at the android woman. "This? Oh, these are your x-rays that I took earlier today. Still, it would be a lot easier if I actually had your design plans. Having those plans would give me something to compare these x-rays to..."

"So it'll take a while?"

"Yeah. Possibly. I don't really know. The x-rays aren't showing much, so I might just have to immediately pull your tank out and try to fix it without any point of reference."

"I would prefer not for you to do that..."

"Me too. I think I need to call it a night. I'll look at it some more in the morning, but for now I just need a break!" Bulma stood up from her seat. "I think we might be having a movie night of sorts, do you want to come?"

18 was surprised at the offer. This other woman didn't seem to mind the fact that she wasn't fully human either. She was giving her an offer that a normal human would usually get. Unsure of how to react, she just shook her head and declined. She'd seen a few of the strange movies in theaters, but they were not much to her liking.

"Okay, well I'll see you in the morning then. Bye!" the cheery blue-haired scientist exited the lab and left 18 alone.

18 returned to her room and sat on the bed. Maybe Krillin was right. Maybe it really didn't matter that she was an android. She was beginning to feel a lot more welcomed in this household, but somehow Krillin reached out to her differently than Bulma did.

She looked outside the balcony doors' windows and saw that it was still raining. Maybe it was time to pay another visit to the balcony itself. She went outside and enjoyed the rainy weather some more. She wasn't sure why, but she had always enjoyed looking at the rain. It made her think of something getting ruined, and the rain was another opportunity for it to start over. It made her think of her life, and the opportunity that Krillin gave her to start over.

She looked out into the city. Life was as busy as ever there, even in the night. But it held a different sort of urban beauty that she appreciated. And the rain and the darkness made things so much better.

For just this once, Android 18 didn't mind getting a little wet. She walked close to the edge and leaned against the railing. The wind blew the rain in her dircetion and it felt good on her skin. She knew that the machine parts of her body were constantly producing heat. The cool liquid refreshed her in a way she would have never imagined. She realized that maybe she didn't just enjoy looking at the rain, but she actually enjoyed being in it too.

...

Krillin had gladly accepted Bulma's invite to join their movie night, but he was a little disappointed when he found out Android 18 wasn't going to be there as well. It was no big deal though. He happened to be a _big _fan of chick flicks. Oh, who was he kidding?! He couldn't stand the sappy romance stories that made him cringe when he thought about the pathetic love life that belonged to him.

Still, he thanked the couple for letting him watch it with them, and also for letting him hear Vegeta's amusing commentary. ("Of course there's an ex boyfriend involved!" "Is she really going to go back to him?" "I don't like that guy! He dresses worse than Nappa did when he'd been drinking!" "_That's_ what she's looking for in a man? Just grow up, Earth Woman!") He claimed that he hated chick flicks, yet he seemed to be the one getting the most into it.

Krillin retired to his room and enjoyed the noise of the rain outside. He let out a long sigh, undressed, and got underneath the covers of his bed. Staying the night didn't give him the extra opportunity to talk to 18 like he had hoped it would have. Instead he had to lie in a different bed where he would still feel miserable.

He tossed and turned all night. Or...for a few hours of it anyway. He just couldn't fall asleep knowing that the love of his life was in the next room over. He just laid there and felt sorry for himself. Then, a sudden burst of light from the balcony illuminated his room. After the bright burst, the light dimmed into a constant glow, which meant that it wasn't lightning. So what was it?

He went outside to the balcony surprised to find that a soaking-wet Android 18 was sitting criss-crossed on the wooden floor, holding some sort of ki orb. He stood there and stared at her, wondering how long it would take for her to notice him. She seemed to be very caught up in whatever she was trying to do.

"Are you okay?" he asked her slowly.

She looked up at him, lost her concentration, and lost her hold on the ki. "A little frustrated, but I'm fine."

"What are you doing?"

"I was trying to see if I could still use my energy tank. It's too hard to do much with it though. Bulma said it might take some time before my new one is finished."

"I'm sorry to hear that," he told her, even though he really wasn't. Maybe he could somehow come up with a reason to stay here even longer.

"It doesn't matter," she stated. "Did I wake you up?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. I haven't been able to fall asleep. It's sometime after midnight, you know."

The android shrugged. "Whatever. I couldn't fall asleep either. I decided that I like it out here though. This is my third time coming out here, and I don't really want to go back inside."

"You're completely soaked!" he pointed out. "Aren't you cold or anything?"

"Not really. The rain is nice. It feels cool. I guess it's cooling down the machinery inside of me."

"Oh yeah? I guess that stuff must get pretty hot, huh?"

She shrugged again. "I don't usually notice it, but compared to the rain, I guess it must."

Krillin sat down next to her, even though he knew that he was going to get the only boxers and undershirt he had with him wet. "How long have you been out here?"

She gave yet another shrug. "Not sure. A couple of hours maybe?"

"What?!" he exclaimed. "You're gonna catch a cold!"

She rolled her blue eyes. "Androids don't catch colds."

"I guess that's true," he said. "I honestly keep forgetting that you aren't human."

"Not _fully_ human anyway," she corrected.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm part human, part android."

"Really?"

"Yes. Dr. Gero just modified my human body to make it more...upgraded."

"Doesn't that technically make you a cyborg?"

"Technically. It's just easiest to not have to explain everything." She paused for a second and then continued. "Actually, you're the first person I've even told this to."

Krillin looked at her blankly. "Don't you think the others would trust you more if they knew about this though?"

Android 18 gave a typical shrug answer. "Whatever. I don't really care for their trust. Bulma and her father probably know, but only because they've seen my design plans. I'm mostly metal at this point anyway."

He was about to do something very courageous. He reached out and touched her face. "Well, you're mostly human in my eyes."

After staying like that for another second, 18 pushed his hand away and looked out at the city. "You said that earlier today. Or something similar anyway."

"Only because it's true." Krillin followed her gaze out to the city and looked at it with her. "Do you...ever think about that time you kissed me?"

She looked over at him and narrowed her eyes. "Of course not! Are you kidding me? It was only a kiss on the cheek anyway."

"I guess so," he said slowly. "That kiss saved your life though. If you had never kissed me, I probably wouldn't have thought of you much differently. I probably would have shut you down and destroyed you when I had the chance."

"Do you regret that decision? To not shut me down?" she asked cautiously, knowing that this would be a touchy subject.

His gaze on the city didn't even falter. "Not in a million years."

"Really?" she questioned with surprise. "But if you had destroyed me, Cell wouldn't have been able to transform. Your best friend, Goku, wouldn't be dead."

He sighed. "That may be true, but then we wouldn't be here, getting soaking wet in the rain, having this conversation now, would we?"

"It isn't all that great," she stated.

"I thought you said earlier that you liked the rain." Krillin held his hand out to catch some of the water droplets.

"Like the rain? Yes. This conversation? It's gotten a little dull..." she said with a yawn. "I think I'm going to go inside now. I'm finally ready to sleep."

She stood up, and he noticed how dripping wet she was once more. "Are you going to be able to sleep, all soaking wet?"

"I have a change of clothing. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He watched her walk inside, and he felt his heart nearly get ripped right out of his chest. She didn't seem to hate him like he thought she did, but she didn't seem to really like him either. Still, she had tolerated their conversation for that long, and she told him something she'd never shared with anyone. Who knew what would happen now?

He entered his room and shivered. He didn't bring an extra pair of clothing because he didn't even think that he was going to be staying any longer than a few minutes. Boy how that changed quickly. _Oh well. I guess one night being soaking wet won't hurt..._

* * *

**This one's a little longer than usual (especially since it's part 1 of 3), but hopefully it was nonetheless enjoyable! Android 18 is definitely my favorite female character from DBZ. I just love her style, her attitude, everything! ****Ever since I watched the show as a child, I just thought she was so cool!**

**Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow/favorite/review!**

**-TOW**

**P.S. I'm trying to start this running gag thing with Vegeta and chick flicks because, you know, first chapter nostalgia! XD**


	4. Exploration

**Part 2 of the mini-story! After part 3 comes out, then it'll go back to a bunch of unrelated oneshots, but for now these ones are related! Thanks for reading!**

**UPDATE: Like I said on the last chapter, I'm not a big fan of this mini-story, so if you feel bored by this, just skip ahead to the chapter after Part 3. Don't give up on me yet! ;)**

* * *

Theme #32: Exploration

_(The Briefs' house, the next morning)_

Part 2: Day 2

Krillin woke up the next morning damp and smelly. The rain left a strange scent on him, sort of like a wet dog. His throat was a little sore and dry, and he felt mildly congested (which was odd for a fellow without a nose), but it was easily something he'd be able to shake off once he got up and going.

He stood up and got dressed into his clothes from yesterday, a pair of khakis and a navy shirt. The sensation he got was weird though. His underclothes were all gross and wet, yet the clothes he wore on top of them were compeltely dry. He did his best to ignore it, and he left his room feeling somewhat like he had peed his pants.

It would be kind of silly for him to return to Kame house to get new clothes now though, because by the time he arrived, he probably would have already dried off. He considered asking Vegeta to borrow something to wear, but then he realized that his wet clothing was mainly his underwear. The proud Saiyan would _definitely_ not let Krillin wear that, not that Krillin would have wanted to anyway...

So he just sucked it up and dealt with it as he exited the room with a chill down his spine. He was definitely going to be a little cold for a while. As he passed 18's room, he noticed that the door was open and the android was not inside.

He continued walking until he arrived in the large living space. Bulma was sitting on one of the couches, holding Trunks, and was having an intense conversation with her father. Vegeta was not in the room, so Krillin assumed that he must be training somewhere else, and that was okay. Mrs. Brief was who knows where, but Krillin was okay with that too. As for Android 18? She was sitting on a different couch, reading a fashion magazine.

18 noticed him first. "Well look who's back from the dead." Something about her was a little bit off. Maybe it was her voice...?

"That's not as funny once you have actually died before," he commented.

She cleared her throat. "Yeah? Try being inside of another android that strongly resembles an insect and claims to have the DNA from all of the world's mightiest fighters. And to top it off? I was sucked in through his tail."

Krillin wasn't going to make this a competition. It didn't matter that he had Freiza's horns stab him through his chest and was tossed around back and forth and back and forth like the world's worst and most painful bull ride. He didn't like thinking of it as a bull ride though. Actually, he didn't like thinking of it at all, and it generally wasn't brought up around the dinner table or on those dates with other girls that Bulma set him up on. Unless Vegeta was there like last time...

He changed the subject. "What time is it?"

"Around 10," she answered, flipping a page.

"10?!" he exclaimed. "I didn't mean to sleep in that late!"

She glanced up at him from her magazine. "Well, you did. It's too late now to do anything about it." _Her voice is somehow different!_

Krillin walked over to the couch she was sitting at and sat down next to her. "Are you feeling okay? You sound a little...weird."

She made some sort of guttural noise. "I definitely don't feel normal, but that's probably just because of my energy tank issue. I guess it's affecting my vocal chords. All I know is that I'm ready for it to be finished. That's what Bulma and her father are discussing now. Not really my kind of conversation..."

18 turned her attention back to the magazine. Krillin looked closer at what she was reading. It was a very typical fashion magazine. Images of dresses and shoes and shirts and pants and everything else you could imagine. Sometimes it showed celebrities and how they wore it, sometimes it was just the outfit itself. Sometimes there were full articles, other times there were just brief descriptions of the clothing pieces and accessories.

"Are you...into fashion?" he asked casually.

"Hmph. Yeah. You could say that." Another page flipped. 18 tucked a piece of her hair in.

He had an idea. A very awkward one that could go quickly downhill, but it didn't hurt to ask. "My clothes are still really wet from the rain, so maybe you might wanna go shopping with me? I have my wallet, and I'm willing to pay for anything you want too. It'll be my treat because I feel like you've had it a little rough and-"

"You're an idiot."

"Is- Is that a no?"

"Are you trying to ask me out on some sort of date by using the excuse that your pants are a little dirty?"

"Haha...um, well, not really my pants. Particularly my underwear, but it's kind of seeping through, so I guess so... Wait! I'm not trying to ask you on a date! I really do just want to get some new clothing. Then I saw how interested you were into fashion and I thought, 'Hey! Maybe she would like to come and shop for new clothes too!'"

She shut her magazine and got real serious. "Are you trying to say something? Are you trying to tell me that I don't dress well enough?"

"No! Not at all!" He momentarily froze as she glared at him, so he tried to rephrase that. "I mean, 'no, not at all' because that's not what I was trying to imply! Not 'no, not at all' because you dress bad. You dress fine. I mean, you dress really well!"

He sighed and tried to address it from another angle. "Look, it's no secret that I'm a little...fond of you, 18, and I just thought you might appreciate it if someone took you shopping and spent their money on you, instead of you using your own!"

She smirked. "I wouldn't exactly call it my own if it was robbed from a bank."

"I forgot about that," he commented. "Well, then maybe it would be best if I did pay for everything. _Legally._"

She tilted her head to the side and nodded while looking up, as if she was actually considering the offer. Suddenly, her gaze shot right back to him, and she narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute, didn't you say something earlier about needing underwear? I'm not going underwear shopping with you!"

His face turned bright red. "What?! Oh no! That's not what I meant! _You_ don't have to go underwear shopping! I'll just pick up a pair of boxers or something while we're out and about. It shouldn't be that big of a deal since you already saw me in my boxers last night..."

"Did I hear that correctly?" Bulma said, turning around and, of course, only hearing the weird part. That last sentence. Her dad had just left the room, and their conversation was over.

"It's not what you think!" Krillin's redness turned a shade darker, but he stopped her from saying anything anymore humiliating. "She just, uh, caught me at a bad time without my pants on."

18 gave him a weird look. That was not at all what happened. He just didn't want to have to explain any further. It'd be best to avoid anymore possible ways this situation could get any worse for him.

"Okay..." Bulma said, drawing it out. She then turned to 18. "So there may have been a little complication with your storage tank stuff. After talking with my dad, I just learned that we have finally isolated the problem with the storage system, and we do have all the necessary _tools_ to rebuild your new part...we just don't have all the _materials_. We're missing a specific type of metal and a few little pieces to one of the circuits that helps regulate the amount of energy inside the tank."

"Great..." Android 18 said sarcastically. "So what are you going to do about it?"

Bulma sighed and looked at the sleepy child she was holding. "For now, nothing. Vegeta has to stay home with Trunks, who didn't sleep well and needs a nap, my parents are leaving for a convention, and I have to go with them. We're not available to get the materials needed right now."

"What about us?" Krillin asked, gesturing to himself and 18. "We could go out and look for it! Isn't there a mechanic's shop nearby somewhere...?"

She considered it. "Yeah, you're right. Okay! The two of you can get the parts! I need to go change into something a little bit nicer, and I'll come back down with a list of exactly what I want. Hopefully now I'll be able to create your new energy tank, 18."

The blue-haired woman ran upstairs, and Krillin grinned at the android. "Looks like we're going on a shopping trip after all!"

"Isn't that lovely..."

"Oh, come on! It'll be fun!" he urged. "What we're you saying yesterday? That you'd been exploring the world and stuff? Now you can explore the city!"

"You may not have realized it, but I was joking when I said that." She sighed and looked Krillin up and down from head to toe. "Well, a little shopping trip definitely couldn't hurt _you_..."

He crossed his arms. "Hey! I'd have you know that I generally put a lot of thought into my outfits!"

She raised a brow. "And it clearly doesn't pay off. That shirt with those khaki pants and those shoes? You look like a cashier at Walmart. You can use my expert opinion. Trust me."

"Expert opinion?" he asked. "Since when do you have an expert opinion?"

She rolled her eyes and held up the magazine. "Since I'm the one who reads _these_ in her free time."

He got quiet for a second before speaking up again. "I always thought that Bulma was the self-proclaimed fashion expert around here..."

She flicked a strand of her hair. "Well, I'm not from around here now, am I? In any case, I have decided that I will go shopping with you. We'll get the parts, your pathetic clothing, and I will even take you up on that offer for buying me stuff as well."

Vegeta walked into the room shirtless and with a small towel around his neck, dripping with sweat. "Where's the woman?"

"Which woman?" Krillin asked. As of the moment there were three in this household.

He rolled his eyes. "Idiot. _My_ woman!"

"Uh, she ran upstairs. She's getting dressed to go to some sort of convention or something. I think she wants you to watch Trunks," he offered.

The Saiyan sighed. "Of course she does. Well, at least I don't have to go to the stupid thing..." He continued to grumble, but he went upstairs as he was talking, so most of it just became unintelligible nothings.

18 turned to Krillin with a bit of confusion on her face. "Is that what being married is like?"

He shrugged. "I wouldn't know."

The room was filled with silence as the two waited for Bulma to return. Android 18 re-opened her magazine and flipped through a few of the pages to return to where she had left off. Krillin just sat there awkwardly next to her. He didn't know what to say, and he didn't want to open his big mouth and say something stupid that would make her cancel their plans for shopping. He wasn't a shopping man, but he would do anything to spend time with 18.

After a few more minutes, the silence was interrupted by a certain loud couple and a crying child. Bulma was now dressed more like a business-woman and held a paper (probably the list) and crying Trunks, and Vegeta wore more casual clothing now. Dr. and Mrs. Brief walked right behind them, both also going to the convention with their daughter.

"Maybe he's crying because he forgets that he has a father!" Bulma shouted at Vegeta as they walked downstairs.

"Or maybe because his mother is always yelling!" Vegeta yelled back.

She handed him the screaming child and crossed her arms, crinkling the paper a little. "This has nothing to do with me yelling! This is about you never wanting to take care of your son!"

"I don't bother with him because he's always crying when I'm around and sees me!"

"IT'S BECAUSE YOU'RE NEVER AROUND THAT HE CRIES WHEN HE SEES YOU!"

Trunks started screaming louder. Vegeta's power level began to rise with his anger. "This is RIDICULOUS! Why don't I go and get those stupid materials to get that android out of here, and have the two of them watch the child?"

"He isn't their kid! That's not fair to them!" Bulma argued. She took a breath and lowered her voice. "You are going to watch your son while I am gone for a couple of hours, and then you won't have to worry about him for the rest of the day."

A miracle happened. The two year old child stopped his screaming and crying and then actually started laughing and poking Vegeta's face. "Daddy! Daddy!"

Vegeta smirked and looked down at the child he was holding. He even let him poke his face a little longer before he swatted away Trunks's arms. "You were wrong, looks like the kid does know who his father is. And all it took for him to stop crying was for you to lower your voice."

She sighed and walked toward Krillin and Android 18. "Whatever. Well, we need to leave now or else we're going to be late. Vegeta, I am trusting our only son solely in your hands. Krillin and 18, be sure to get that part _ASAP_, okay? Here's the list of materials. Go to the mechanic's shop on the corner of Maple Street and West Tower road."

"Goodbye now," Dr. Brief told them as he walked his wife and daughter out of the room.

Mrs. Brief turned around and waved. "Goodbye Krillin! Bye Vegeta! Bye girl sitting next to Krillin!"

18 sighed. "My name is a number. Is that so hard to remember?"

"Don't take it personally. Mrs. Brief is a little..." Krillin tried to search for the perfect word to describe her, but he couldn't find it.

Vegeta looked over at the two sitting on the couch. "Well? Are you guys going to leave or what?"

He stood up and gulped. "Are you sure you'll be fine with Trunks all on your own...?"

"He is my son!" he shouted as an answer. "If you think I cannot watch one lousy child on my own, then you are mistaken! Now leave my house immediately!"

Android 18 stood up next to Krillin, and together they walked out of the house. He turned back to look at the building. "I never got breakfast..."

"It doesn't matter," she told him. "You can eat when we get back. This won't take that long, I hope."

He looked across the street. "I've only been inside the city part of West City once or twice. How about you?"

"Probably the same," she answered. "Now let's go get the items needed to create my replacement part."

He was worried that once they got the materials, 18 was going to change her mind about clothes shopping with him. He was going to spend all the time with her that he could! He would have to leave soon, so maybe this was his chance to show her how fun exploring the world could be if you had someone with you.

"Let's not be so hasty," he said with a grin. "Bulma won't be back for a couple of hours, so we may as well make the most of this!"

Android 18 crossed her arms. "I can easily get this task done on my own. There's no need for you to even be here, so I wouldn't push your luck, got it?"

He gulped. "I got it. Can we at least get me some new clothes first? I'm still wet and cold." He shivered as if on cue. "See? Any longer like this and I'll get sick or something."

"Well, I'm sick," she spat at him.

"I thought you said that androids couldn't-"

"Sick of standing here, sick of both of our outfits, sick of this conversation, but most of all, sick of you."

"Oh." He stared at the beautiful woman. "Well, I thought you actually were sick for a second because your voice is kind of funny..."

"Shut up about my voice!" she said, raising it. "I already told you, my energy storage tank is screwed up, and it's affecting my vocal chords! Get over it!"

He stood up a little taller. "Yeesh. Okay. So are we getting the clothes first or not?"

"I would rather get the materials now. Bulma said to get them ASAP," she told him. Then she let out a sigh. "But I guess we can get the clothes first. Only because I'm tired of arguing with you."

He let out a longer sigh. She probably wasn't interested in him at all, and she even seemed more easily irritated than yesterday. "Okay. Let's just go."

The two walked around the corner and down the streets, looking for stores that seemed to have suitable clothing for either of them. Krillin was thrilled to find a store for him first, and he was finally able to buy and change into fresh, dry undergarments. In the same store he found a pair of pants and shirt that he liked, but when he tried it on and stepped out to get 18's approval, she told him he vaguely resembled a small potato.

Needless to say, the outfit was put back, and just as they were about to give up on the store, 18 saw a red t-shirt that seemed like it would perfectly suit the casual look Krillin was going for, but it also wasn't super tacky. He tried it on and stepped out to see what she thought.

Android 18 cleared her throat. "I like that shirt and how it looks on you. I wouldn't wear it with the khaki pants, but I do think that you can pull it off."

He found himself beaming from her compliment. "You think so? Well if you like it, I like it! You know 18, I think we make a great team!"

"Don't let it get to your head," she told him quickly. "This has nothing to do with team work. This was solely my decision."

He smiled flirtatiously, ignoring her comment about letting it go to his head. "But it was I who had to be the one to wear it and pull the look together."

"It was mainly the shirt, not you. A monkey could have worn that shirt and made it look good," she remarked. She said that, but somewhere inside of her, she did think that he wore the shirt very nicely.

"Are you talking about Vegeta?" he joked.

She completely stopped what she was doing and stared at him blankly. Then she actually managed to crack a small smile. "You know Krillin, you're actually kind of funny sometimes. I guess, you're not too bad." She didn't really find him bad at all though. She wasn't quite sure how she felt, so she main't stuck to what she knew. Treating him coldly.

She cleared her throat. She was tired of having such a scratchy voice, and she really wanted to get her stupid tank fixed. "Anyway, you have some clothes now. Can I pick out a new outfit? You promised me I could."

"Of course!" he told her.

She gave a small smile. "Great. Let's go somewhere else though..."

After paying for Krillin's clothing, the two exited the store and walked a little further down the street. Android 18 made assumptions about all the stores based on the few pieces of clothing they displayed in the windows.

Nothing stood out to her at first until she saw a belt wrapped around the waist of one of the mannequins. She wasn't sure what she would wear that belt with yet, but she liked the simplicity of a brown belt that would fit around her waist. Plus, it matched her favorite pair of brown boots.

They went inside the store and found that the belt was placed near where the mannequin was. She picked it up and held on to it. 18 still needed a blouse or a dress that she could wear the belt with though. She decided to continue looking around the store they were already in for something that might catch her eye. Much to her amazement, something did.

18 picked up the dress and went to the dressing room to try it on, bringing the belt with her. She slipped out of her other clothes and changed into the new dress. Everything fit really nicely. Nothing was too loose or too tight. And just as she wanted, the belt did a great job of tying it all together while also nicely hugging her waist. She stepped out to get Krillin's opinion, even though she already made up her mind. It was only fair since she gave him hers earlier.

He stared at the beautiful blonde before him. She wore a long-sleeve dress, which had blue stripes. Wrapped around her waist was the belt from earlier. Both the dress and the belt hugged her figure, and Krillin thought it was very flattering on her. The length of the dress went about 3/4 of the way down her thighs.

"I'll also be wearing my leggings underneath the dress and my brown boots," she explained.

"Or...you don't have to wear the leggings..." he suggested.

She scratched her nose, which had an itch. "Yeah right. I'm going to be flying around again when I wear this. I am definitely wearing my leggings underneath!"

"Okay," he said. "You know what's best. I think that dress looks very nice on you. It's, um, very nice. You look-" He tried to ignore the heat flowing to his face. "You look beautiful, 18."

She was surprised at his compliment. She had expected him to say something stupid and flirtatious, but this felt like a genuine, heartfelt compliment, not just some cheesy thing to say as an attempt to pick her up. Her heartbeat felt a little off to her for some reason, and she found herself smiling more than she intended too. He wasn't like the other guys she'd been around in her time exploring the world earlier. Krillin was different, but it was a...good different.

"Thank you, Krillin. And also for buying this for me. You didn't have to, you know," she told him sincerely.

He shrugged and looked down at his feet. "I know. But I figured...you know...you would appreciate it."

"I do." She felt awkward saying that and actually being what could be considered nice. She cleared her throat for the millionth time today. "Well, I should go chnage back, so you can buy this stuff, and I can get my fixed part soon."

"This is all you want?!" he asked with some surprise.

She furrowed her brows. "Was I expected to get more? I only wanted one outfit. And I already have the rest of the accessories and stuff at Capsule Corp. in my suitcase. I don't need any more."

He didn't argue with that. He had only one other girlfriend before 18. Marron. She would spend hours clothes shopping and trying on all sorts of different outfits, half the time not even buying then. Even then, what she did buy was a ton, and Krillin sometimes worried he would run out of money just buying gifts for that one girl. It made her happy, so he bought her lots of stuff anyway. 18 on the other hand, while admitting that she liked fashion, seemed almost a little guilt-ridden for having Krillin pay for everything.

_Wait a second...did I just think, "one other girlfriend before 18"...?_ Marron was _still_ the only girlfriend he'd had! He wasn't dating Android 18! As much as he dreamed of her company, he could tell that the "dating" thing wasn't going to happen. He didn't think that he could ever even work up the nerve to ask her out on a date. He was sure that she would turn him down. But at least Krillin was pretty confident that she didn't completely hate him anymore. Maybe his offer for going shopping did actually soften her up some.

After buying the new clothing, the two exited the store and stood on the sidewalk as they tried to orient themselves and figure out where they were going now. Krillin knew that the mechanic's shop was just around the corner...but was it the right corner or the left corner?

"Why don't you just fly up and get an aerial view?" 18 suggested.

He gave a small smile out of embarrassment for not thinking of that earlier as he flew up in the air. The city people stared out of pure shock at first, but they quickly went back to their normal lives. After living close to the Briefs, weird things must happen all the time.

"Wow!" Krillin exclaimed, drinking in the view. "I'm usually in such a rush when I'm flying, I never get to truly appreciate the view for what it's worth! It's amazing! Who could have realized that this city was actually so big?! It kinda makes me want to run around in it. After we find the shop do you want to explore the city some more with me, 18?"

She shot him a dangerous glare from below. "I'm not here for sight-seeing! Just find the shop, so I can get the materials to make the replacement part!"

He located the shop to be just around the right corner and floated back down. "It's not going to take long to get there. It's over that way. Just follow me."

Krillin started out walking at a decent pace, but the impatient android next to him demanded that he picked up the pace. He moved a little faster, now at a light jog. "How's this?"

She shook her head as she jogged next to him. "Not good enough for me. Let me show you how it's done." She picked up the pace even more to a running speed.

"Hey! I can do better than that!" he called back. Now he he was moving at a sprint with Android 18 by his side.

"Is that all you've got?!" she asked with a competitive grin as she moved even faster.

They kept getting faster and faster, words and laughter getting lost in the wind that they created until they moved at a speed completely untraceable to the average human eye. Because of this little competition that had errupted, they passed the mechanic's shop and ran around the block again. And again. And again.

This probably would've continued for longer had Krillin not tripped and fell over on their fourth time around as they approached the shop. His landing wasn't the most graceful, but he managed to turn it into some sort of tuck and roll and didn't suffer from any injuries other than a few scratches on the palms of his hands. All the mean while, 18 came to a stop, turned around, and laughed at the man sitting on the sidewalk.

He stood up and brushed himself off. "It's not that funny."

She still snickered a little. "Yeah, it is. Let's go inside the shop now."

They walked into the mechanics shop where hard rock was blaring from somewhere in the back of the store. A heavily tattooed man in a bandana bobbed his head along with the song and stood behind a counter. Krillin and 18 shared a glance before approaching the counter themselves.

"What's up?" the man asked.

"Um, we were wondering if you had any of these materials?" Krillin asked as 18 placed Bulma's list on the counter.

The man picked up the list and narrowed his eyes as he read. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! These ain't some kiddie science fair project materials you're asking for, ya' know?"

"So you have them?" he asked.

The rocker-cashier-mechanic sighed. "I mean, we have the materials to build the circuits, but this metal you're asking for ain't exactly the easiest to get. Lucky for you, I know a guy."

"So can you get the materials or not?!" 18 asked impatiently.

"Sure thing, Princess. I'll go grab the circuitry from the back and call up the other shop. Fair warning, it'll take quite some time for it to arrive."

"How much time?"

"Depends. How much cha-ching can the lady bring?"

"As much as it takes for it to get here ASAP." She glanced over at Krillin, who wasn't the happiest at that remark, but she was more than happy to pay with the stolen money herself.

"Then why don't we discuss the money over lunch and see if I can give you some sort of discount?" He winked, a little too suggestively for Krillin's liking.

Before Krillin could even speak up, Android 18 had the situation already under control. Er, sort of. She reached over the counter and grabbed the man by his jaw and lifted him slowly off the ground. It must not have taken much energy to lift him since her storage tank was still broken. In any case, her tactics were unusual, but her point was pretty clear.

"I'm not asking for a discount," she told him. "Now I want you to go to the back and get the circuitry, then call your little buddy and have him bring the metal that we need. Understand?"

The man wasn't in a position to speak, so he made an "OK" with his fingers. Android 18 lowered him back to the ground and gestured for him to leave. He quickly ran off and grabbed all the circuit parts and said that he had called the other shop to bring over the metal that was needed. It was going to take between two to three hours.

Krillin looked at 18 and said in a low voice, "Why don't we just fly over there? It'll be a lot quicker."

She cleared her throat. "Did you forget the whole reason why we're here?"

"I- I could carry you."

"Nice try," she said. "I guess we'll just have to come back later today."

After grabbing the circuitry ("Completely free! No worries!"), the two walked out of the shop and stood on the sidewalk where 18 places her hands on her hips. Then she itched her nose once. Twice. Three times. A sniffle. A throat-clearing. Then a frustrated grunt.

"I feel like absolute crap because my stupid storage tank is broken!" she shouted angrily. "And now because of your brilliant idea to go shopping first, we have to wait another 3 hours or so before the material comes in! This is _great!_"

He knew that it was not really great. He cleared his own throat, and thought about how he wasn't feeling so well either. "Look, 18, I'm sorry. I didn't know that they wouldn't have that metal! If you want, we can go catch a movie in the mean time. I could even grab lunch there. Movie theater lunches aren't great but-"

"I don't like movies," she blatantly stated.

He was a little surprised to hear. "Oh. Well, um, why not? Maybe you just haven't seen the right kind. There are some genres I can't stand, but others that I couldn't live without."

The two of them subconsciously began walking toward the theater, which was just down the street, and Android 18 tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "The last one I saw was a comedy, but it wasn't funny at all."

"Comedies are generally hit and miss for me, but I guess that's pretty typically of all movies," he explained. "It's always more fun to watch them with a friend too. We just have to find the right genre for you. You're a girl, so maybe you'll like chick flicks. I could care less about chick flicks, and although Vegeta claims to hate them, I'm pretty sure there's a soft spot in his heart for them."

"I don't think I'll like chick flicks," she said as they approached the nearest theater.

He shrugged. "It was just a suggestion. Maybe you'll like horror movies. There's always action movies too. Those are my favorite. Superhero movies are also pretty good. If you-"

She pointed to one of the posters. "That looks like a good movie."

"'Space Exploration,'" he read aloud. "Well, after actually going through real space exploration before, I'm sure that this movie will be somewhat disappointing..."

"What genre does this one fall under?"

"It's called science fiction, or sci-fi for short. They're pretty good overall, but there's definitely a couple out there that you just wish you had never seen."

"I want to watch it."

"Of course you do," he commented with a smirk. "Who would've thought that the robot-human-android-cyborg wants to watch a sci-fi film?"

They walked inside and were pleasantly surprised to find that a showing of "Space Exploration" would be playing in about 20 minutes. Krillin bought the tickets, and offered to buy 18 something to eat and drink, even though he knew she couldn't have anything. Then he bought a hot dog, a small popcorn, and a soda of his own. Finally they went into the room that their movie was playing at and took some seats.

It was only commercials and previews, so Krillin decided it would be okay to talk to the android. "Are you sure you don't want any popcorn? I've got plenty."

"I already told you that I physically can't eat or digest anything," she replied, pushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Then how about just letting the popcorn sit in your mouth. You don't have to swallow. Just enjoy the savoriness of the salt and butter. Explore your tastebuds!"

"Krillin, I can't-"

"Just try it! You'll surely like it!"

After an eyeroll, she picked up a piece of popcorn, placed it in her mouth, and itched her nose. She let it sit in her mouth for a second, receiving none of the tastes that Krillin had described, then gestured for him to hand her a napkin. She spit the popcorn piece into the napkin and hoped that he was satisfied with her actions.

"So what did you think?" he asked semi-excitedly.

"I think that was a big waste of time," she answered. "I hope you're happy because I was trying to tell you earlier that I got my tastebuds removed too."

"Why would he do that?" Krillin wondered out loud.

18 shrugged. "I don't know. I'm sure there was some purpose for it. Or maybe not. As far as I'm concerned, Gero was a horrible and cruel man..." She winced as she thought about how awful he had treated her and her brother. It was as if he had asked for them to rebel.

They sat through the long previews together, which 18 found to be unappealing and boring. But once the movie had started, she was pleasantly surprised at how much she was enjoying it. There were serious parts, there were funny parts, there were sad parts, there were intense, actiony parts. There were some parts she didn't understand, such as the romance between to of the main characters. The movie caused her to feel all sorts of emotions. It made her want to laugh, want to cry, want to applaud, and in a weird way, it made her want to feel romance of her own.

Krillin and 18 exited the room and he asked how she liked it. She couldn't hold anything back. She was only planning on giving a nonchalant answer, but she ended up going on and on about how connected to the characters she felt and how great it had been portrayed. She even admitted wishing that she had seen more movies like that earlier. What she didn't admit to was that part in the back of her mind that urged her to find romance of her own.

"Thanks, Krillin," she said after clearing her throat. She would be very happy once her system was fixed and she didn't feel so "sick." "You've made the time that I thought I was going to hate actually...enjoyable."

That small part in the back of her mind that wanted her to find romance of her own must have got the best of her. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. It was a familiar scenario to one that had played out many, many weeks earlier. Except this time, something was different. She had done it out of her own kindness and some sort of...other feeling, and not to just tease him cruelly then run off.

Krillin was completely dumbstruck by the sweet action. He sort of wanted to grab on to her face and press his lips on hers, but he knew that wouldn't go down well. So instead of doing or saying anything, he just stood there like an idiot and waited to follow her lead.

"Let's, um, go get the metal for my replacement part," she told him awkwardly.

They headed back over to the shop in sort of an awkward silence. She knew that he liked her. She _knew_ that he liked her. He just didn't seem to comprehend her sudden signs of affection. She was worried that she had screwed it up now. Surprisingly, she was enjoying her visit here more than she thought she ever would. And she was enjoying her time spent with Krillin too. Weird feelings came over her, and she almost didn't want to leave, but she did need to get her energy storage tank fixed.

The duo picked up the metal from the shop, still free of charge, and they went back to Capsule Corp. At this point, Bulma and her parents had returned from their convention and Vegeta had gone back to training after keeping the house (and the baby!) all in one piece. Trunks was still down for a nap, luckily for Bulma, so she could now devote her full attention to finishing the tank for Android 18.

Krilin and 18 watched the blue-haired genius construct parts of the storage tank. When asked why he had stuck around, Krillin just replied simply that he wasn't quite ready to leave. Although 18 secretly didn't mind it, for some reason she just rolled her eyes and acted as if she could care less.

"The good news is," Bulma was saying as she worked, "that at the rate this is going, we should have it finished soon, and you can finally leave like you've been wanting to. The bad news is, in order for me to have it fully completed, that means a late night for me. We will be having a busy day tomorrow, but I will do my best to finish it because I know how much it will mean to you."

18 nodded slowly. She was almost a little hesitant about leaving, but she did want to not feel so disgusting and sickish anymore. "Okay. And this should fix the cold-like symptoms I've been having to, right?"

"One can only hope," she said as she screwed something into place. A _click_ sound was made as something else popped into place, and Bulma nodded approvingly. "You will definitely be out of here by tomorrow, which is good because I need you guys to leave anyway." She looked over at the two of them. "No offense. I just have some people coming over."

* * *

**The end! Well...not really. We still have part 3 left! I hope you all enjoyed this update. Building their relationship! Prepare for some more fluff next chapter! ;)**

**Thanks for reading! Be sure to follow/favorite/review!**

**-TOW**


	5. Start

**The final part of my mini-trilogy is titled "Start," which is kind of ironic, don't you think? Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the conclusion for this mini-series! Updates after this one will go back to being normal oneshots, unless otherwise stated (but I don't think I wanna do a mini-series again).**

**UPDATE: Just skip to the next chapter. Thanks.**

* * *

Theme #42: Start

_ (The Briefs' house the next day, early-afternoon)_

Part 3: Day 3

Krillin was able to spend the night again by simply telling everyone that he didn't feel like leaving. After a long and awful phone conversation with Master Roshi, it was decided that he could stay once more. The master said he understood the struggle with women. But Bulma was kicking him out whenever the press arrived for a conference anyway, so it didn't make too much of a difference that he couldn't stay any longer than one night.

Krillin felt like crap though. And not just any average crap. Dog crap. Dog crap that had been sitting in the neighbor's lawn for ages because they were too disgusted to pick it up, which just caused it to get even grosser. He could tell that he had definitely come down with some sort of cold. Yesterday he hadn't been feeling great, but he was able to suck it up. Today he was absolutely miserable, and he blamed it on that rainy night with Android 18.

Just a little after 1 pm and after Bulma had spent a long night finishing up the energy storage tank for 18, the part was finally installed. Krillin waited in the living room for 18 to come out, and he could see how she was. An exhausted Bulma and an unhappy Android 18 walked out of the lab together.

"So the good news is that the new part is correctly installed and everything seems to be in check as far as energy supply goes," Bulma said, rubbing her tired eyes.

"What's the bad news?" Krillin asked, eyeballing the sickly looking android.

Android 18 sniffled. "It didn't make me feel any better. I feel like I might actually be sick."

"Because you are sick," the scientist said. "And it seems like Krillin is too. You guys just have a common cold, so it's not like you'll die or anything! But seriously, what did you guys do? Sit out in the rain together the other night?" She laughed as if she had made some sort of funny joke.

18 and Krillin shared a glance, then the android rubbed her red, stuffy nose. "This isn't fair! Androids don't get sick!"

The blue-haired woman rolled her eyes. "You're right. Androids don't, but humans do. And since you are still partially human, it was still possible for you to catch a cold. My guess is that the broken energy storage tank weakened your immune system or something."

Krillin grinned as best as he could even though he felt awful and rubbed the spot where his nose should've been. "Well, 18, looks like we can be sick and miserable together!"

She crossed her arms and furrowed her brows. "This is ridiculous. I shouldn't be able to get sick. When I wasn't feeling good yesterday, I just assumed it was because of my storage tank, but apparently I had a cold."

Bulma suddenly looked down at her watch and gasped. "Shoot! I forgot all about that press conference! They'll be coming here in just a few minutes! It was nice to have you guys over, but you need to leave. And I need to go get cleaned up!" She ran her hands through her hair as she ran over to the stairs. "Bye! You really do need to leave now!"

Neither of them made a move. They just shared a strange glance. Bulma was very impatient. "I mean _now_! Seriously! Or I'll have Vegeta chase you out!"

They shared another glance, and the two realized that they did not want that man chasing them. Vegeta had actually chased Krillin during the last date Bulma set up for him, and that was enough for him to never want to repeat the experience. Quickly gathering their belongings, they both walked out of the house together and stood in the driveway, trying to figure out what to do next. Both of them were sick and gross after all.

"I guess I'll be flying back out to Kame house," Krillin told eher. "The best thing to do for a cold is to just take it easy and relax, so I'll be doing just that. What about you 18? Where are you going now?"

She shrugged. "I have no idea. Somewhere where I can feel better, but I don't have any place in particular. I-" She furrowed her brows and stopped talking for some reason.

"What's wrong?" he asked with worry.

She blinked twice then looked around. "Never mind. I just don't like being 'sick,' okay?"

Krillin started flying into the air and 18 followed his lead. "Okay. If you say so. I guess...this is goodbye."

"Yeah," she agreed, looking at the earth below them. "I guess so."

The android began to get overcome with strange feelings and emotions. She didn't want to leave Krillin. She didn't want to face the world sick and alone. She knew that they would eventually have to part ways again, but now was not the time.

Before Krillin flew away, 18 was able to stop him. "Wait! Can I- Do you think-" She felt kind of embarrassed about asking this. "Would it be okay if I came with you? To Kame house? Just until I return to full health of course, but I need somewhere to stay."

He was overjoyed to hear her ask this. "Of course! I'm sure the old turtle hermit won't mind! You're always welcome to stay with us anytime you need a place though."

She smiled gratefully and followed his lead. _It is good to fly again,_ she thought. She had missed the sensation of wind rushing through her hair and being able to look down at the world. The boost that came with flying was almost enough to make her feel better. _Almost. _And staying with Krillin seemed to help too for some reason.

When they arrived at Kame house, Master Roshi was surprised to find that 18 had come back with Krillin. They explained the situation. They were both sick and since 18 didn't have any place better to go, she would be resting here for a bit. The master, of course, was perfectly happy with having a female in the house again.

As they were figuring out sleeping arrangements for later, the phone began to ring. "I've got it!" Roshi shouted as he rushed over to the telephone. "Hello? Yeah, he's here." He held the phone out then shouted, "Krillin! It's for you!"

Then short man ran up to the phone. "Hello?"

"Krillin!" the voice cheered from the other end.

"Gohan? Is that you?"

"Yep! Are you okay? You sound kinda funny..."

He sighed. "I'm just a little sick. Nothing serious, it's just a cold. What's up?"

"Mom needs me out of the house," he said slowly. "It's been a while since I did any training, so when I tried to train again she got really upset with me. She said that she didn't need me bouncing around breaking things with the new baby in the house."

"That's right! I forgot about the little guy! How's your mom doing with the baby since Goku's whole...you know..."

"Fine, I guess. Grandpa's been staying with us to help out. I really want to come over and train with you!"

Krillin laughed. "I'm sorry, kid, but right now I'm in no condition to do anything that vigorous. Especially since you're a Super Saiyan now! But I'll tell you what. How about you come on over anyway, and just hang out here? It'll keep you out of the house at least."

"Sure thing!" he said excitedly. "I'll be over in just a bit!"

Krillin smiled as he hung up the phone. When he turned around 18 was standing there watching him, and he jumped 10 feet in the air out of surprise. "Oh, hey 18! You snuck up on me! Gohan is going to be coming over soon."

She nodded. "I heard. Will there be enough room for him too?"

Krillin gave a small, breathy laugh. "Oh, he's not spending the night or anything. He's just coming over for a short visit. He's a really good kid."

"Goku's son, right?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yep. He's the one who defeated Cell once and for all! If it weren't for him, you wouldn't even be here."

"I know. The boy could defeat him, and I couldn't." Perhaps she was still a tad bitter about that... She looked over at Master Roshi, who was watching something on the television now. "What's he doing?"

Roshi looked over at the lady. "It's called exercising! You can join me if you'd like! Heheh!"

She wrinkled her nose and furrowed her brows. "That is not exercising. Even if I wasn't sick, there is no way I would ever want to 'exercise' with you."

Krillin rolled his eyes at his old master. "Just ignore him. Do you wanna get some fresh air with me? Sometimes that helps when you're sick."

18 shrugged. "I don't have anything better to do."

The two left the old man to his "exercising" inside and enjoyed the beautiful day that was out. They pulled up some chairs to sit in and listened to the waves crash in the background. It was peaceful and happy.

"I'm glad it's sunny out," she told him. She leaned back a little further in her chair. "I don't think I like the rain anymore. Not if it makes you sick..."

He laughed a little. "It's not that it always makes you sick, you were just sitting in it for a couple of hours."

She squinted her eyes as the sun was getting in them. "You got sick, and you weren't out for that long."

"Because I slept in my wet clothes. That probably wasn't very smart..." He shrugged it off and enjoyed the nice atmosphere.

Android 18 stood up out of her chair. "I'm gonna go back inside real quick. The sun's in my eyes, so I think I'll go grab my sunglasses out of my suitcase real quick."

She walked back inside as a different figure drew nearer and nearer in the distant sky. That figure rushed toward the ground quickly, and reveled themselves to be Gohan. His hair was a golden-yellow though, which meant that he was a Super Saiyan at the moment. He waved to Krillin as he landed.

"Super Saiyan?" Krillin asked with a smile. "You like it, don't you?"

The kid gave a small smile in return. "It's pretty neat, huh?" He powered down. "I mainly only did it so I could get here quickly."

The bald friend nodded. "You've also grown since the last time I've seen you! The next thing I know, you're gonna become a giant overnight!"

He laughed and shrugged. "I guess having a good diet, staying active, and using my brain helps a lot."

"Maybe that's where I went wrong," he said. "The brain part."

The two were able to laugh together happily until Android 18 stepped out of the house with her sunglasses on top of her head and a magazine in one hand. Gohan became serious. "Krillin, Android 18 is right behind you! We don't know what she wants, so be on guard!" He took a fighting stance and turned to face the woman. "Why are you here? My father is dead, so what do you want now? Is your brother with you?"

She rolled her eyes then pushed her sunglasses down to cover her them. She had also changed from what she was wearing earlier. Now she was wearing shorts and a simple t-shirt. "Don't worry, kid. I'm not here to hurt anybody."

"Then what do you want?" he asked as he held his stance.

She plopped down in her chair and flipped open the magazine. "Relax. Maybe I'm just here on vacation, okay?"

He dropped his stance out of confusion. "Krillin...she's sitting next to you! Aren't you worried? She sounds different than I remember her to be too! Maybe someone programmed her differently and she's come back for us!"

"I guess after seeing all the horrible things you've seen at such a young age, you're just used to expecting the worst," Krillin commented. "18 isn't here to 'come back for us' though. She's here because she's sick like me and needed a place to stay. That's also why she sounds funny."

Gohan blinked twice and relaxed a little more, but he was still somewhat tense. "Can an android get sick? Are you sure this isn't some sort of set up?"

18 sneezed then sniffled as if on cue. "I am sick. This isn't a set up. I'm partially human, okay?" She sneezed again.

The pre-teen raised a brow. "Doesn't that technically make you a cyborg...?"

She groaned and flipped a page of her magainze. "Yes. It does. It's difficult to explain."

Krillin put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. "She's had a pretty complicated life, but I can guarantee you that she's not going to kill us. Like I said earlier, she needed a place to stay because she was sick, and I agreed that she could stay here." He looked over at the beautiful woman and gave her a smile.

Gohan glanced over at 18 then to Krillin then back at 18 and over to Krillin again. "Are- Are you guys dating?"

Android 18 shot straight up from where she was relaxing and tilted her sunglasses the same time Krillin violently shook his head and turned bright red. They shared a glance, then 18 spoke up first. "What gave you that idea?"

He shrugged his shoulders and looked at the two of them. "I mean, for starters, the way you shared that glance a second ago was oddly suspicious. Now your staying here with Krillin. You guys seem _very_ comfortable in each other's company. I remember that he had a crush on you too! And then there's the fact that-"

"That's enough, Gohan," his friend cut him off through gritted teeth. His face gradually went back to its natural color.

A breeze blew Gohan's bangs in his eyes, but he pushed them back with a hand. "So do you still like her then?"

18 just smirked and returned to her reading as Krillin stood up and shooed the kid down closer to the shore with him. They walked along side of the water. "Gohan, what experience do you have with girls?"

"I mean, there's my mom, Bulma, Bulma's mom, Androi-"

"Girls your age, I mean."

"I don't understand what this has to do with-"

"Just answer the question. What experience do you have with girls your age?"

"Not much, I guess. I've only talked to a few whenever I've gone in town to help my mom out with the groceries. But I've read about them in books!"

"I don't think books count. You probably don't understand why this is embarrassing for me, do you?"

"No. Not really. Are you trying to date her? Is that it? I can give you some advice from books!"

The sigh that Krillin let out was covered up by the sounds of the sea crashing against the shore. "It's pretty complicated now, and I don't think some books are gonna be very helpful. I think she might actually be warming up to me, but I can't ask her outright to go on a date with me or to be my girlfriend or any of that."

"Why not?" Gohan didn't understand why he didn't at least try.

The wet sand felt good on Krillin's feet as he walked through it. "Are you kidding me? This is Android 18 we're talking about! She is so beautiful, but she's so intimidating at the same time! It was hard enough to even _talk_ to her at first, so I'm surprised we've even come this far. She might even be somewhat into me, but I need to be sure to not screw anything up!"

Gohan kicked some of the sand into the sea. "I still don't see why you don't just ask her on a date or something simple like that. What's the worst that could happen?"

"She could definitely kill me. See, you don't really understand the situation. It's not that simple. You're too young." He crossed his arms over his chest.

The boy kicked some more sand. "I'm old enough! I do too understand!"

"Really? How?" he asked disbelievingly.

"I told you that I've read books! I know stuff!"

"Well, Chi-Chi's schooling is definitely doing you a lot of good now, so that you can give me advice on my love life from the books that you've read." He scoffed after his own sarcastic comment.

"Well, I was just offering my opinion. I'm just saying that-"

Krillin shrugged it off. "Forget about it. I'm done talking about 18. I think I'm just done talking in general for a bit. My throat hurts. I'm gonna go inside and get some hot tea to help it. Do you want some too?"

He agreed and they went inside. 18 stayed outside to soak in the sunlight though. Gohan and Krillin sat around the table and drank their tea together with the sound of Master Roshi's "exercise" tapes playing in the background. They talked casually about how Gohan's life was now, and how the family in general was, especially with the arrival of Goten without Goku.

They continued talking some more, and Krillin ended up explaining the entire story of how 18 ended up at his house. He even talked about the time they spent on the balcony together and why they were sick. He talked about after the movies when 18 kissed his cheek again, which had just been ignored by both of them. He could talk all day about the things that have happened, and he nearly did, but it was eventually time for Gohan to go home.

"Thanks for listening to me. And thanks for giving me hope about my relationship with Android 18," Krillin commented as he walked Gohan outside.

With a shrug he just said, "Sure." Then he turned around. "Well, I guess I'll be going now, but Krillin?"

"Yeah?"

"I want you to do something for me, okay?"

"Okay, sure."

"I'll admit that I don't have any experience with romance except for what I've read and seen in movies, but I think you should trust me on this one. Just ask Android 18 out on a date." They were a ways away from the android, so she couldn't hear this.

Krillin furrowed his brows as Gohan flew into the air. "I've already told you-"

"If this is anything like those books or some cliche chick flick, then I think you're right about her being interested in you," he explained.

"Chick flicks? Why are you watching those?" he asked in return. "Have you been spending time with Vegeta?"

The boy was confused. "Vege- What? No! Look, I just want you to try! You're not going to get anywhere by just sitting around all day complaining about your love life. I'm only 12, but I that's old enough to see that all you need to do is take the initiative to try and ask her out. Well, I need to get back soon, or else my mom will have my rear! See ya!"

Krillin stood alone for a while. Gohan sounded like Bulma, telling him to do something with his life. It'd been nice to catch up with him, but now it was time to face that love life again. Part of him wanted to take the advice that he was given and to just ask her out on a date, but the other part of him lived in reality. He kicked some of the sand before walking back inside the house.

Roshi was sitting by the window, drinking something. "I couldn't help but overhear."

"Oh Dende... Not you too!" He couldn't wait to hear what sort of dumb advice the old coot gave him now.

"I think you should listen to the kid."

"Of course." He let out a breathy sigh. "It's not as easy as everyone is making it seem. I'm ready for dinner. What's to eat?"

...

It was night time and dark outside now, and Krillin still wasn't sure what to do with his life. Gohan's advice just kept running over and over through his mind though. He thought he was going insane! Pigs will fly before he could work up the nerve to ask 18 out on an official date!

_But pigs can fly! _Oolong can always transform into something that can fly! He took a deep breath in and walked outside to where 18 was lying in the starlight with her eyes closed. She looked gorgeous. She'd gone from sunning in the daylight to soaking in the starlight. She seemed so relaxed and at peace, one would have never guessed that she was still miserable and sick.

"Hey," Krillin said, sitting in the chair next to her. "Are you awake?"

She opened her eyes and faced him. "I'm awake. I was just enjoying the outdoors."

He wasn't sure what to say now. It fely just like all those awkward conversations he'd had with her on the couch days earlier. "I noticed that you didn't really talk to Gohan."

She shrugged. "He's just a kid. Besides, I didn't want to get in the way of you too talking about me."

"Did you hear us?!"

"No. I just figured. How much did you guys talk about me anyway?"

The night air was suddenly a little chilly. Krillin shivered as he looked down awkwardly. "A...percentage of the time."

"What percentage?" She looked at him innocently. "I'm just curious."

"You know, I'm really bad at math. I'm kinda cold. Are you cold? It's chilly. Do you want me to get you a blanket?"

18 could tell that she was making him nervous and actually found it kind of cute. _Kind of what...?_ "Um, yeah. A blanket would be nice."

Krillin quickly ran inside and grabbed a blanket from one of the closets then ran back out to deliver it to the blonde woman. She wrapped herself snugly in its warmth and smiled. He shivered again, reminding himself that he too was cold.

"Didn't you say that you were cold too?" she asked, noticing him shiver without a blanket of his own.

He try to play it cool. _How punny. _"Yeah, but real men don't need blankets or anything. We just get to tough it out and act strong."

She nodded and adjusted her blanket. "What kinds of things did you and Gohan talk about when you were discussing me anyway?"

"Are you really that curious?"

"I am!" And that was the truth. She wanted to know what he'd said about her. It wasn't quite clear to her why she wanted to know what he thought about her, but she did. She actually _liked_ knowing that he had discussed her with Gohan. She liked that strange sensation that she got when he got all shy and embarrassed about his feelings toward her. It also made her question her own feelings toward him. At this point she recognized that something was definitely there, but she couldn't figure out how to describe it...

He tried to make it seem as casual of a conversation as possible. "Well, if you really wanna know, Gohan was trying to give me advice about...you. But the kid's 12! He doesn't know anything."

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "What kind of advice? What did he say?"

"Just some...ridiculous things..."

"Like?"

"Well, he told me to ask you on a date. It's almost kind of funny, isn't it?"

She rubbed her stuffy, itchy nose. "I don't know. I don't really think so."

He was taken by surprise by her initial response. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, maybe you should try it."

Krillin was dumbstruck. She was totally giving him a chance! And now that he could finally try to start something between them, he didn't know what to even say. "Uh, but what about the time we spent together yesterday. That was practically a date, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "It wasn't official because when I asked if it was, you denied it. I'm beginning to think that you don't even want to go on a date with me anymore."

Like the grains of sand, she was slipping through his fingers. He couldn't screw it up this time. "Okay. 18, would you like to go on a date with me?"

A small smile fell upon her lips. "Sure."

"See?!" he exclaimed. "I knew that you'd turn me down! I knew this would happen! I knew it! For a second there, I thought you were leading me on, but I was a fool for being so naive! Gohan was wrong too!"

18 furrowed her brows in confusion. "I- I said sure..."

"You said wha-" He couldn't even finish his sentence.

"Sure. As in...yes."

He didn't really expect her to actually agree. He didn't even know what to do! "Um, well, um. I didn't think you would actually... I don't actually have anything in mind. I wasn't planning on asking you out, so now I'm kind of at a loss for what to do. And neither of us are feeling super great either so..."

She sat up a little taller. "How about a walk?"

"A- A walk? You want to go on a walk?"

"No, I want to go to Jupiter." She rolled her eyes. "Yes. Just by the shore over there. Come on."

18 stood up and so did Krillin. He followed her down to the seashore where they began to walk the perimeter of the island. It was still kind of chilly out, so she kept the blanket draped over her shoulders. Krillin now felt kind of silly for "being a man" and shivered in the wind.

Android 18 hugged the blanket closer to her body and wrinkled her itchy nose. "I've surprisingly enjoyed spending these past couple of days with you, Krillin. I've enjoyed them a lot."

He wasn't sure how to really act and felt kind of awkward knowing that this was now an official date. "I've enjoyed them too." He cleared the gunk out of his throat. "Even though we both managed to get sick."

She shrugged and the blanket started to droop down on one side. She adjusted it and continued walking. "I'll admit that having a cold hasn't been fun, but it allowed us to spend more time together, right?"

He nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Are you-" He didn't know how to word this. "Are you interested in me? Earlier I could have sworn that you hated me, but now..."

"I got to know you a little better, I guess," she answered. "The more I learned about you, the more I..." She let the wind carry the words away because she really didn't know where she was going with that. She felt a little out of character for even doing this.

"You didn't exactly answer my question," Krillin pointed out. "Let me reword it. How do you...feel about me?"

"Feel about you?"

"Yeah, you know, emotions and stuff. Bulma said that yours are a little screwy, or something along those lines, but I know you still feel things. So how do you feel about me?"

"It depends. How do you feel about me?"

His heart thudded in his chest. "You- You know how I feel. It's pretty obvious..."

The blanket wasn't the only thing keeping her warm and fuzzy. She wanted to hear Krillin speak. When he said those sweet things about her before, she felt all warm and fuzzy inside. "I want to hear you say it."

"It's hard to put in words," he admitted. "I remember from the very first moment I saw you, I was absolutely terrified of you. I still am too." She laughed softly, and he continued. "I first saw you in Dr. Gero's lab when you were with your brother. At first I thought, 'There's no way that those are the androids!' But you guys were. You looked so human, so beautiful, and I felt a little silly. I just ignored it and was determined to figure out how to beat you guys.

"Then there was that one day. You approached me and...you kissed my cheek. That was it. That was all you did. But it was from then on I knew that I wasn't going to be able to hurt you. Of course, Bulma then wanted _me_ to be the one to shut you down and destroy you...but you saw how that ended up going. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I- I was so convinced... I still guess I am..."

18 noticed him getting a little distant. She was enjoying his story and wished for him to keep going. "What? What are you convinced of?"

"I love you." Mic drop. _Silence. Silence. Cricket. Cricket. _Now he had done it. He had screwed it up for sure. Those are exactly the three words that you should not tell someone on a first date! Especially when that someone is a deadly android! There was no recovering now.

"Okay," was all that she said in response.

"Okay," he said after she did. He messed up pretty badly, but he may as well go for broke and try some more. At this point, he had nothing to lose. "So I said it. Now it's your turn. How do you feel about me?"

Neither of them were walking anymore. 18 had been trying to dodge the question. She had hoped he would have forgotten about it once he started talking. She tried to find words for her feelings, but none came. She still didn't know how to even identify what those feelings were. Then she recalled the romantic bit in the movie they saw together yesterday. All she had ever done up to this point was kissing his cheek. Maybe now-

She quickly faced him and pressed her lips on to his. She didn't know that she was going to be kissing him tonight before now, but she did anyway. It was a strange sensation. She had never felt anything quite like it. It caused her heart to race and her skin to tingle. _This. _This was how she felt about Krillin. After dodging it for so long now, she knew it was true.

It was a fairly short kiss, so they both quickly pulled away, embarassed by what had just taken place. Krillin touched his lips in confusion, wondering if that really had just happened. "You know, it's a good thing that we're _both_ sick."

18 needed to sit down, so she did. She stayed all bundled up in her blanket as she did so too. Suddenly she sneezed but smiled up to him afterward. "I'm just glad I didn't have to sneeze during that." _That. _She couldn't even refer to it as a kiss.

He laughed and sat down next to her. "It could've been worse. You could be Launch and have sneezed."

"I could've been who?" she asked slowly.

"She's just a person who used to be here a lot, but it was mainly just an old reference to throw into our dialogue for fun." He shivered in the chilly air again. "Okay. I admit it. I should've grabbed a blanket for myself."

18 unwrapped herself from the blanket she had been bundled in. Then she threw half of it over Krillin and half of it over herself. "There. We can share. It's a big blanket..."

"It is," he agreed, letting their shoulders barely touch. He looked out into the water and felt a dreamy smile fill his face. _Should've asked Gohan for his advice sooner. _"I think this might be the start of something wonderful, 18."

She let some sand fall through one of her hands, not knowing how to respond. "It does seem that way."

"Random question: Do you think I should grow my hair out?"

* * *

**The mini-series is now over, HALLELUJAH! I'm sorry that it isn't my best writing. The kiss at the end seems a bit out of place, doesn't it? As well as Gohan's random appearance. Whatever. It's all over now! Thanks for reading!**

**-TOW**

**P.S. I feel like this Gohan is based somewhat off of Team Four Star's Gohan. Lol. Does anyone else watch their stuff?! I am obsessed!**

**P.P.S. Have you guys been catching the running gag about the chick flicks? What about the mini-running gag about Krillin's last date (once per chapter in this trilogy thing, someone mentions his last date and how awful it was because of Vegeta lol)? Little things, but I find them fun to throw in there!**


	6. Colors

**Another update! :) Yes, it's another Bulma and Vegeta one, but it was practically begging me to be written! Anyway, I hope you guys like this one! :D**

* * *

Theme #31: Colors

_(The Briefs' house, a little more than 2 years before the androids' arrival)_

Bulma looked down at the white invitation bordered in gold and narrowed her eyes smaller and smaller and smaller until they were practically shut. She opened them again and read it over once more, this time aloud so she would surely not miss anything.

"Saturday night. Six pm to twelve am. Formal attire. Dinner, music, and socializing." She squinted her eyes at the paper once more.

She didn't even know the person who sent her the invitation all that well. He was a very well-respected businessman and scientist within the community, so it was a huge honor to receive an invite to his party. But Bulma knew what was expected at gatherings like this. Especially as a woman with the reputation that she already had. It was not blatantly stated, but she knew what she needed to have anyway.

A date.

Usually whenever she went to both casual and formal events, she did have a date and it was no problem. Yamcha had been a great boyfriend for sucking it up and going to all those things. But Yamcha wasn't here right now. He had made other "priorities," and Bulma, his _ex_-girlfriend, was not one of them.

Still a bit bitter from their last conversation after their official breakup, Bulma did not want to call him back right now. He had made his decision about how he wanted to spend his time and she had made hers; not with him. To call him back solely for the purpose of dragging him out as a date for a party would not settle well on either end right now. Eventually they would probably do their typical thing, make up then make out, but it was in both of their best interests to take a break from each other for the moment.

Long story short, he was simply not an option.

That being said, none of these thoughts actually settled the crisis Bulma was having right now. She'd had this invitation for a little while now and kept running it over and over in her head. The party was tomorrow, and she already said she would come. She couldn't back out. Not to someone with such a big name in the community. But she couldn't just show up single either. She was expected to have a date and if it weren't for Yamcha screwing everything up...

Bulma furrowed her brows. She wouldn't be in this situation if it actually weren't for _Goku_ when you really thought about it. Because of her adventures in her teenage years with Goku, she met Yamcha and they started dating. If she had never met Goku, maybe she would have found a more committed boyfriend whom she could take to all these parties. _But nope!_ She met the monkey-boy, and then she met Yamcha.

A lot of things in her life would be very different if she hadn't met Goku, but at this point she was used to it. He had definitely changed the course of how she thought her life was going to be (for the better or worse, she still didn't know), but throughout it all, he was a very good friend. She half-wondered if maybe she could borrow Goku for tomorrow night. Chi-Chi would never allow it of course, and Goku would probably wreck the place, but she was getting pretty desperate.

Desperate enough to even ask-

A door opened abruptly in front of her and Vegeta stood before her in a sweaty grey muscle shirt, blue boxer shorts, and white socks. "Your refrigerator is empty again."

"Would it hurt to knock?" she asked, still stressing over the party.

"Would it hurt to put more supplies in your food storage container?" he asked in return.

She threw the invitation at him angrily in the pure frustration of everything, but it was too flimsy to even get remotely close to him. "Could you leave me alone right now?! I'm having a bit of a crisis, and I don't know what to do! I really need to think this through thoroughly, and your complaining is making it difficult to use the brainpower it takes to do that."

He made some snorting sound. "Maybe you would have more brainpower if your food supplies were replenished."

This time Bulma stood up, picked up the invitation, walked up to Vegeta, and threw it right in his face. "I'll give you something to replenish..." she muttered under her breath. She knew that he could kill her at any moment, but she also knew that he _couldn't_. He relied on her expertise when it came to designing training equipment too much.

After being hit in the face by the invitation card, Vegeta bent over and picked it up with a small laugh. "Is this what you're stressing about?! Ha! I thought you were working on some awesome new project, like more training equipment. This is just a stupid party invitation!"

"Well the person who received this stupid party invitation can easily make a request to cut down on your food supplies if you don't watch your mouth! And I'm not worried about the party itself. Well, I guess I kind of am. But only because I- I- I..."

"Because you what?" Vegeta asked impatiently.

She looked down out of embarrassment. "Because I don't have a date..."

He laughed. At first it was just under his breath, then it was a small chuckle until it grew into a loud cacophonous cackle. "A date? A date?! All of this stress for one petty date?! Haha! You're too much! I don't see why you don't just bring the bafoon that you usually go with!"

She crossed her arms and made a face. "Yamcha? He and I are officially broken up now. I can't just go with him!"

"Well that sucks," he said as he started walking away. "Let me know once everything's restocked."

Bulma didn't want to do it. She didn't want to do it, but she felt as if she had no other choice at this point. "Vegeta?"

"Hmm?" He spun around to face her.

"Would you like to, uh, go...with me?"

"Are you asking me to be your date?"

"Yes, but not really. We could just go as friends!"

"Woman, we aren't even that. We're merely acquaintances if you can consider it that much."

"I think you can consider it a little bit more. I mean, you do live in my house. Er, my family's house."

He crossed his arms. "Why should I go? What's in it for me?"

Bulma placed her hands on her hips and matched his attitude. "You're living in this house as a guest! Either I, or my parents, can easily kick you out at any time we feel like it."

He let out a huff of air. "Whatever. I'll just go find some other place to live at."

"Just as an FYI, most of the places around here are not going to feel comfortable housing an alien. Even if they never find out that you're not from earth, you'd still have to pay for it with the money that you don't have." She flipped a piece of hair behind her shoulder, fairly confident that she had won.

Vegeta groaned and placed his arms at his sides, only to ball them into tight fists. "Well, I'm still not quite convinced. I'm sure I'll figure out some other place to live if you actually want me to leave, which seems unlikely."

"Are you implying that I want you to stay?"

"Are you implying that I shouldn't be wanted to stay?"

Bulma's face contorted into a scowl. "You are so full of yourself sometimes, I'm not even sure how you function! But I am serious about this threat. Although this party may not seem like a big deal to you, it is to me. If you do not come with me, then I _will_ kick you out."

Her words were stated firmly and pressed into the back of Vegeta's mind. He had tried to call her bluff earlier, but it appeared that she was not lying about this. "Give me one _other_ good reason I should go."

"There will be food. Lots and lots of food." She hadn't won the argument before, but surely the victory was hers this time around!

His eyes narrowed slightly. "What type of food?"

"All sorts! Entrees, appetizers, desserts, anything you can imagine! Food from all over the globe! And the person who invited me to this is one of the richest of the rich, so you can bet it will be food of only the highest of qualities." She smiled sweetly, but an all-knowing fire burned in her eyes.

"You have my interest," he admitted. "Is there a limit to how much food I can eat?"

"Nope! It's all up for grabs! Buffet-style!"

"And do they really serve food like this at all of your parties?"

"I can only think of one time in my entire life of attending these that they didn't. On this invitation, they specifically mentioned dinner. I know it will be gourmet, chef-prepared, five-star, deliciousness on a plate. And snacks too probably!"

His mouth was practically drooling now, much to pleasure of Bulma. "You should bring me to these more often if the food is really as good as you say."

"Oh it is," she agreed. "But usually I bring Yamcha, remember?"

He nodded. "So all I have to do is show up and eat?"

She grinned. Manipulation was something she that had always been pretty good at. "Exactly! Just stay by my side like a good date, and all the food presented can be yours. Just as long as you don't make a fool out of yourself by eating savagely."

"I'm sold," he told her. "I will come with you."

"Great! Now let me find a nice suit that will fit you..."

...

Bulma finally pulled near the large driveway of where the party was being hosted. This man's house wasn't very close to where hers was. It was also about 6:45 now, which was okay because she knew from experience that you shouldn't show up to these things right on time.

Vegeta was thrilled to finally arrive, for all that delicious food that had been promised was awaiting him. He just hated that it had to take so long to get there. "It would've been much faster if we had flown."

"I did fly! I flew the hover-car," she reminded him. She knew what he really meant, but she felt like teasing him a little.

He let out a huff of air. "No, I mean fly as in without a vehicle! Fly using ki!"

She shook her head. "That wouldn't help because, let me think about it..._I can't fly like you can!_"

He rolled his eyes. "Well, that's not my problem. You should have learned. What I meant was that I could carry you. It would make us arrive much sooner."

Bulma tried to picture herself in the Saiyan's arms, soaring above the city. It was a funny thought to her because he almost always jerked back at her touch. Whether it was accidentally brushing hands when handing him a mug of coffee or intentionally holding onto his arms to measure their length when creating better training gear, he definitely did not do well with physical contact.

"Would you have really carried me all this way?" she asked out of curiosity.

He shrugged. "Only if it meant I could get to my food sooner."

"Let's just go inside."

And so they walked together up to the porch of the large mansion. The door was already flung wide open and tons of people were laughing and conversing loudly every which way. Bulma tried to scan the crowd for some of her fellow scientist friends. She couldn't see anyone right off the bat, so they stepped inside for a better view. Loud music was blaring from the speakers inside.

Vegeta cringed and narrowed his eyes. "Why is it so loud? And why are there so many people wearing so many different colors?! It's overwhelming to my eyes and ears!"

The blue-headed beauty placed a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. "That's just how these things always are. Loud and colorful. I'm glad I wore this red dress though because it seems to fit in with what everyone else is wearing more than that purple one."

"Why does it even matter?" he asked "Either way your dress would have added to the plethora of colors already surrounding us." He began to walk away.

She grabbed him by his shoulder, and he shrugged off her grip once again. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to get some food."

"Well you can't just run off like that! We have to stay together! If I stand by myself, everyone's going to think that I showed up without a date. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"I don't care. Your stupid reputation doesn't affect me as long as I get some food."

"Look," she said, "we can get some food in a second. I promise! But first you have to come with me as I socialize a little bit. Then we can go to the food together."

They walked further inside and Vegeta grimaced some more. "The colors are even brighter in here, and the further we go, the louder this ridiculous music gets!"

"Just relax," she told him. "You'll adjust in a second. Remember, it's talking and then the food. We don't even have to stay the whole time, but I do need to make an appearance."

"I'm beginning to think that coming here wasn't even worth it...not even for the food!"

Bulma just offered him a small smile as a response. They walked into the central room, where it appeared most people were gathered. She looked around for her friends. She would have missed one of them if that said friend hadn't waved her over.

"Bulma!" the brunette scientist called out as she and Vegeta walked over to her. "I thought that was you! I just assumed that you would bring Yamcha again, so when I saw this other man at first, I figured there was no way it could be you! I was obviously wrong!"

Bulma gave a light laugh. "Teresa, you know Yamcha! He's been as flaky as ever!"

Teresa laughed with her. "So what really happened though? And who's this _fine_ gentleman?"

"I am Vegeta! Prince of all-"

Bulma placed her hand over his mouth. He tried to keep talking, but his words were muffled. He knew that he could pry her hands off of him without even trying too hard, but that would be too easy of a defeat for her. He decided to be disgusting and lick her palm instead.

"Ew!" she yelped in surprise. "Why did you do that?! You pathetic little-" Bulma realized that Teresa was watching and did her best to save face as she wiped her wet hand on Vegeta's suit. "So, um, anyway...this is Vegeta, as he already stated. He also has a bit of an ego."

He crossed his arms. "Says the woman who tells herself that she's the prettiest genius in the world as she's brushing her hair..."

Her face reddened a little bit. "Well someone has to say it! Why are you even listening to me as I'm brushing my hair anyway?!"

"You're the one who does it in the middle of the living room!"

Teresa was a little surprised. "So I take it you two are living together now?"

"No!" Bulma exclaimed the same time Vegeta sighed and responded, "Yes." They shared a glance. "Yes!" Bulma answered as Vegeta said, "No."

"I don't think I understand..." the scientist commented.

Bulma sighed. "You don't have to. It's kind of, uh, complicated, and it's not quite what you're thinking, but we do live in the same house."

She nodded along. "Okay. It's cool. I understand complicated. How did you guys even meet?"

"Kakarot and Raditz didn't do their jobs, so I was forced to-" This time, he was cut off by an elbow jabbed into his side.

"A mutual friend!" she simply covered for the Saiyan. She should have given him clearer instructions on how to blend in earlier. Maybe bringing Vegeta was a bad idea after all. But it was better than showing up single...right?

Teresa just nodded and smiled slowly, unsure of what was really going on between the two. At this point, she didn't really care to know either. "Okay. Well, I see Johnathan over there, so, uh, I'm gonna go see what he's up to..."

She ran off quickly, leaving Bulma and Vegeta in her dust. The blue-haired genius turned to her date, placing her hands on her hips. "You're going to terrify everyone if you keep talking like that!"

He scoffed. "I was just being honest. I thought humans appreciated honest answers!"

With a roll of her eyes, Bulma tugged on Vegeta's arm once. "Not when the truth is going to scare everybody. Let's not talk to anyone else and just go get some food like you wanted."

He gave a bright white grin and practically followed his nose to where the food table was situated. "Holy Mother of Frieza... That is a lot of food!"

Bulma smiled. Now he would surely find the party to be pretty decent. No more complaining from him. Just as Vegeta began to decide on what to eat first, someone tapped on Bulma's shoulder. She turned around to face them.

"William! Monique!" she cried out in happiness. "It's been too long since I've last seen you! How have you guys been?"

Monique smiled and held out her tan hand. On it was a sparkly silver wedding ring. "It's been great! We got married over the summer, and everything's just been perfect ever since!"

"Absoutely perfect!" William agreed.

Bulma nodded enthusiastically. At least this couple seemed to have a normal life and relationship. "That's awesome! I wish I could have flown out to the wedding, but you know how busy life can be!"

The tan woman smiled understandingly. "It's okay. I totally know where you're coming from. I was actually half-expecting an engagement announcement from you and Yamcha, and I was worried we would be too busy to make the wedding also!"

She let out a sigh. "Yeah, I'm not exactly...with Yamcha anymore. Our relationship has always been on-and-off though, so I'm sure we'll get back together soon."

Monique looked around disapprovingly. "And did you just show up single?!"

Bulma shook her head so fast that she was worried she might get whiplash. No way did she show up single! "Actually, I brought a different date with me. His name is Vegeta, and he's-" She stopped as she realized that Vegeta wasn't even anywhere close to her anymore.

Then she saw a oddly large group of people gathered around one individual, who was practically attacking the food. Bulma politely excused herself from Monique and William's company and marched over to the scene as she muttered, "Oh no. Oh boy. Oh please tell me it's not-"

She saw that a good percentage of the food had been cleared out, nearly confirming her fears. Then it got eerily quiet as the DJ cut out the music and most of the talking was now in a hushed whisper. And they all seemed to be whispering about one short man with a large appetite who was screwing everything up. Bulma was too afraid to look at who the crowd was gathered around.

"Thank Otherworld that that ridiculous music is finally turned off! It hurt my ears!" Then there was a painful-to-listen-to shattering of a plate and the yelling of a familiar voice that followed it. "Son of a Namek! I was eating that! I'm blaming it on being practically blinded by all the ridiculous and overwhelming colors that you people are wearing!"

Someone, a man, stepped out of the crowd, but it was too hard for Bulma to see who it was. "Really? Because I'm blaming it on your lack of competence!"

Bulma tried to get a better view of the situation. Vegeta's pride had gotten hurt, and he was ready to fight now. "I'll show you who's really lacking competence!"

"I'm sorry," the man said with a distinct sass in his tone. "I don't know who you are, so I certainly didn't invite you. Who did you come with?"

_No. No. No. No. No. No. No._ That's all that was running through Bulma's head. _Don't say me! Don't say me!_

"Bulma Brief." His voice was loud and clear, and there was no mistaking who's name he said.

At this point, Bulma definitely would rather have showed up single. Her reputation was going to be ruined for sure. One by one, a few heads turned in her direction until the center of focus had completely shifted to her. Her heart thudded in her chest. All of the eyes that were fixated on her were filled with fiery anger and a lack of respect for her just because she screwed everything up. It stung her, and she wished she could just run away from all the colors that surrounded her.

"Is this true, Miss Brief?" the man who had confronted Vegeta was now confronting her. Indeed, he was the well-known, well-respected scientist who had invited her to the party to begin with. Out of all the places to make a fool of herself, doing it in his company was by far the worst.

Bulma nodded slowly, holding back tears of shame, embarrassment, and anger. "He's with me, yes. But-"

"I wish for you and your date to leave," he demanded. "And if I see either of your faces again, I will-" He was beginning to lose his temper, but after remembering that he was in front of a crowd, he managed to find his cool again. He spat a few last words at her using a quiet, but nonetheless fierce tone. "Horrible things. Just imagine horrible things. Now leave! Immediately!"

Bulma locked eyes with Vegeta and glared daggers at him, and only stopped glaring because her eyes were filled with tears, which began to spill all down her face. She ran out of the party like a mess, causing even more of a scene, but the damage had been done, and there was nothing she could do now.

She escaped from all the colors by running into the dark night and then into her hover-car. She wanted to just drive away as fast as she could, but she was sobbing hard enough now that she was in no state to control a vehicle. After wiping some tears, she crossed her arms and rested them on the wheel, then plopping her head on top of them. A few more sobs escaped her red lips, before someone tapped lightly on the window.

It took a few seconds for her to calm down a little, but she eventualy lifted her head to see who it was. _Vegeta. _She scowled angrily and slammed the door open into his stomach. He jerked back quickly, out of surprise, not pain.

"Leave me alone!" she said angrily. "You've ruined everything, so please! Just leave me alone! I can't drive home right now, and even if I could, I refuse to let you ride with me!"

He stood there guiltily. He had never tried to cause a scene. He had never wanted to make the woman upset. He was simply trying to enjoy himself, but somehow he had done something wrong in the process. Understanding emotions has always been difficult, but he recognized what he was feeling then. Guilt. He never felt guilty, but for some reason, he did this time. It was his fault for making this woman be in the awful state that she was in.

"I came to apologize," he said, somewhat mumbling. The words were foreign to his mouth. "I am sorry."

He had seen enough of the earthling movies and chick flicks and all sorts of other sources of entertainment to know that this should have made her feel better. It didn't. She seemed a little surprised at first, but the scowl came back to her face. "I don't want to hear it Vegeta!"

"I said I was sorry! What more should I do?!" he exclaimed. Kindness was not something he was good at.

"How about you leave me alone like I asked?! I am trying to calm down, but I'm sill in no condition to drive, and you're making it worse!" She was nearly growling.

He took a breath and tried the kindness thing once more. Well, it was sort of kindness. Probably as close as Vegeta would get to it anyway. "Then instead of driving, how about we fly?"

"Wha-" Her words were cut off by the strong Saiyan man picking her up out of her seat and lifting her into the air, bridal style. "Put me down! Put me down! I don't want to fly!"

Vegeta ignored her until he flew just above the top of he mansion. Only then did he put her down on her rear once they reached the roof. "You happy?"

"No!" she exclaimed. "Now I can't get down!"

He rolled his eyes. "Why would you even want to get down? Up here you can't go deaf from the loud sounds or be blinded by all the bright colors. Even by your hovercraft-machine it wasn't this calm."

She stopped freaking out and breathed slowly. She relaxed a little more and only let out a small sniffle. He was right. It was surprisingly calm up here. "How did you know it would be so peaceful up here?"

He laughed a little. "Because every time there's a loud social event at your house, I always go on top of that roof to escape it all!"

She nodded and let the cool wind dry the rest of her tears and run through her already messy hair. Now that she was more comfortable sitting up here, Bulma found it to be quite nice. "I think...I may actually prefer this to the hectic party going on down there."

Vegeta sat criss-crossed next to her and nodded. "I'm glad you like it up here because so do I." He wasn't really sure what he meant by that. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "I hope you know that I'm not going to apologize again."

"It's fine," she told him. "I accept your apology from earlier. I'm sorry that I got so mad, but my reputation is completely ruined now." She sighed as she tried not to get angry about it again.

He uncrossed his legs and laid on his back to look up at the stars. "I don't understand what the big deal is anyway. If those people don't consider you to be a genius anymore just because I came as your date, then they don't deserve to be in your presence anyway."

Bulma smiled as she looked over at him. "In a weird way, that was actually very sweet of you to say, Vegeta."

He rolled his eyes and kept his attention on the bright white stars. "Don't let it go to your head, but you and I are actually very similar."

This surprised her to hear that. She laid down next to him and looked up at the stars as well. "Similar? How so?"

"We are both the elite of our races," he said. "You are a part of the elite because of your high intellect, and I am of the elite because of my superiority when it comes to fighting. You are the heiress of Capsule Corporation, and I was the heir to the throne. Because of this, both of us get invited to all these social events and have a reputation to uphold. Obviously I don't get invited anymore, and it was only after my race died that I realized how ridiculous it was to feel the need to have such a reputation. In the end, it only really matters what you think about yourself."

"What do you think about yourself then?" she asked slowly. "You always talk about being an elite warrior and a prince, but that seems to be more of what others see you as. What does Vegeta see himself as?"

He let out a long sigh. "I don't know. I thought I was happy with who I was before. I was okay with a life of massacring innocent people, yet I wanted Frieza to die for it. I'm a different person now than who I was then. Living among you earthlings has softened me. I don't like it very much either..."

Bulma glanced over at him. The white starlight kissed his face and made him look very handsome. "I don't think it's a bad thing. You've changed for the better. I've noticed it too."

He pointed a finger into the black night sky. "If I were living my previous lifestyle, I would be out there. I'd be blowing up all sorts of things. Instead I'm down here, wrecking parties and making females upset."

She actually laughed a little. "I'm not really that upset anymore. I definitely prefer it up here now that I'm away from everything. And you're right about my reputation! Who cares what they think?! And now because of every thing that happened, I got to see your true colors!"

"What do you mean?" he asked with caution, sitting up straight.

"You're not really the tough guy that you try to make yourself out to be. You admitted it yourself. You're a lot softer after living life here. And after tonight, I feel like I've really gotten to know you a little bit better. I know that the prince of all _two_ Saiyans can apologize." She slowly sat up next to him.

He didn't say anything more. He didn't even correct her by saying, "Three and a half," or anything. He just let the cool air run through their hair and brush their faces. He was surprised to find himself enjoying it up here even with her company. Especially with her company. She wasn't yelling or arguing with him like she typically did, and he admitted to himself that it was a nice change for once.

She wasn't quite finished talking though. "You know, if Yamcha ever screwed up, he would have never taken me somewhere where we could be alone or try to talk with me. I hate to admit this, but I think I prefer you over Yamcha."

The Saiyan man was surprised to hear that. "Really? Even though you'll probably never be invited to another party?"

She shrugged. "You helped me realize that it's not as important as I once thought it was. I'd rather sit up here on the roof with you."

Ever so slowly, she reached out her hand to grab his. He wanted to jerk back at her touch at first, but he decided to allow her hand to linger for a little bit longer. Then she began to lace her fingers through his and leaned her head into his neck. She _definitely_ preferred Vegeta to Yamcha.

After remaining like that for a few seconds, Vegeta pushed her away like he normally did. He cleared his throat awkwardly. "We should probably get going now."

* * *

**I actually really like this one! :) Hope you all do too! ****Follow/favorite/review if you wanna make this girl happy! :D**

**-TOW**

**P.S. This Wednesday I am going to be posting the first chapter of my full story! It's called, "Lost Memories," so you can guess what it's about lol, but it's a Gohan/Videl fic! Be on the lookout for it!**


	7. Gunshot

**Lol it's been a while since I've updated this fic, and I've had this chapter staring me down for so long. I've debated a lot about whether or not I actually wanted to post this because it feels a little bit OOC, but I found it funny enough that I thought _someone_ might enjoy it lol.**

* * *

Theme #87: Gunshot

_(In a small cabin in the woods, after the Majin Buu Saga)_

Android 17 lived alone in a small cabin in the woods. It wasn't too bad though, since his sister and her family would occasionally stop by...which sort of led him to what he was doing now.

He could never admit it out loud or to anyone, but he was secretly...

A little bit...

Sort of...

Okay, he was _very_ jealous that 18 had a family of her own now.

_That she had found love..._ Which he most definitely did _not_ care about. He just sometimes sort of wondered to himself...a lot about what it might be like if he had someone of his own to love.

Occasionally.

Or frequently.

In any case, he didn't mind the idea of having someone with him to fill this empty cabin. Sure, it appeared fairly small to an outsider, but at times it would almost seem a bit too large to him because of how lonely he was.

"First name: Android," he said aloud as he typed on his laptop. "Last name: 17."

Investing in Internet service may have been the best thing that happened to him, even though it was often really slow because he lived in the middle of the woods. When it did work, he was sure to take full advantage of it though.

He thought about his name for a bit and considered changing it. "_Cyborg_ 17."

He went back and deleted it only to change it again. "Sev Enteen."

"17th Android."

"'Droid 17."

"Number 17."

"Francesco Guardinali."

"17 Again."

He sighed and changed his mind back to what it was originally. "Android 17."

He scrolled further down the page and continued to read and type aloud. "Age? Hmm..." His fingers hovered over the keys and seemed to do a little dance when he wasn't sure what to put. Thanks to Gero, he really didn't know exactly how old he was. What should he put?

"25," he decided. He accidentally hit the "5" key twice and laughed for about three minutes straight when his age said "255."

He laughed until his sides hurt, and he worried that he was going to break something inside of him. When he stopped, it got eerily quiet. "I'm lonely..."

17 quickly deleted the extra five and moved on to the next question. "Hair color? That's not too hard."

Then he noticed an extremely long answering box below it. Maybe they expected a really good description of his hair in paragraph form. "Beautiful black locks that fall to my shoulders. Shampooed and conditioned daily with only the highest quality of products. Blow-dried and cared for with love. Hair this good does not come easy."

The android read the paragraph aloud before adding, "I have really nice hair. Just date me already. Please. Ha. Ha." He shook his head and completely deleted the entire paragraph.

Android 17 reevaluated the question. Hair color? "Black."

He continued answering some of the more physical and straightforward questions until he got to one that he didn't know what to do with. "Job?" He sighed and looked around his cabin. He lived off of money that his sister had been lending him, but it still wasn't a lot.

"Unemployed," he wrote, grudgingly. "But...interested in park ranging!" He was pleased with himself for adding that one.

He stared blankly at the next question. "Interests?" He let it roll off of his tongue. "Interests... Is it asking for my interests, like park ranging, or the type of women that interest me, or-"

He was cut off by someone suddenly opening the cabin door and walking inside. As fast as he could, he slammed the laptop screen down and casually placed his hands on top of it, hoping to keep this little secret to himself for now.

Or forever.

His sister came clearly into his view, and he rolled his eyes. "Would it hurt to knock, or do you always barge into other people's houses?"

"If I'm paying for it, then technically this is also my house," she reminded him. She looked at him funnily as she noticed how oddly he was...caressing his closed laptop. "What are you doing?"

17 looked around the room and laughed nervously. "Who me?"

"Yes you, you moron. Why are you holding your laptop like that?"

He quickly placed the laptop onto the table next to him and gave her a big, stupid grin. "Holding my laptop like what?"

She didn't know why he was so jumpy and jittery, but she was determined to find out. He had never acted like this before. Android 18 marched over to where 17 had placed his laptop and began to speak. "Have you been-"

"No! No! No!" he quickly shouted as she tried to open it, cutting her off. "You don't want to look at that!"

She narrowed her eyes. "No? Why not?"

He would die of embarrassment if his sister found out about his soft little secret. "I've been looking at some very, _very_ naughty things."

After he admitted to that, Android 18 hesitated as her hands hovered above the closed laptop. But for some reason, she didn't quite believe him, and she quickly flipped it open before he could even stop her. She skimmed the page that he was on and was surprised at first. But then...

She laughed.

And she laughed.

And laughed and laughed and laughed and _laughed_ at just how pathetic her twin brother really was.

"This?" she asked, gesturing to the screen. "This is what you're so embarrassed by? It's a dating site! You're trying to get a date!"

"N-no," he stuttered. "I was just-"

"It's cool," she said with another laugh. "I understand. My brother is too pathetic to meet anybody in real life!"

He felt his cheeks heat up, which was saying something because he was mostly machine. "I was just curious."

"Don't worry," she told him. "You're secret's safe with me." She gave him a wink and tried not to laugh at him again.

17 rolled his eyes. "Where's baldy and 18 Junior?"

The blonde shook her head at him. "For starters, Krillin's not even bald anymore, but they stayed home. I wanted to drop off this month's money alone this time. They're not here to embarrass you. I promise." She paused and smiled mischievously. "But I am!"

And then she laughed some more.

...

Later that evening, Android 18 went home still laughing to herself about her pathetic twin brother. Was he really that desperate? Krillin caught her laughing at what appeared to be nothing as she sat down on the bed before going to sleep.

"What's so funny?" he asked, feeling a wave of anxiety fill him. "Do I still have toilet paper stuck to me or something?"

She smiled and shook her head. "It's more embarrassing than that. It's about my brother. Because he is my brother, I care enough about him that I don't want to ruin whatever 'reputation' he still has, so I probably shouldn't say anything though."

Krillin made a pouty face. "Aw, come on! You can tell me, babe!"

She rolled her eyes and gave in. "Okay. Fine. But you have to promise not to tell anyone..."

...

Krillin, Gohan, and Goku were having a guy's day out the next morning. Krillin thought about what his wife had told him last night and chuckled to himself. Android 17...on a dating website?! The news was just too ridiculous to believe!

"Are you laughing?" Gohan asked his friend as they strolled down the city streets.

He hadn't even realized that he was doing it aloud. He cleared his throat and looked away awkwardly. "No. No, I'm not."

Goku raised a brow. His short friend had totally been laughing a second ago. "Yeah, you were. Tell us what's so funny!"

"18 doesn't want me to tell anybody," he said, not meeting their eyes. He knew that he had screwed up now. They were going to keep pestering him until he caved in.

Gohan seemed a bit surprised. "Android 18? Your wife? What's so funny that she told you that you're _still_ thinking about?"

"We can keep a secret," Goku said with a wink.

Krillin shuffled his feet nervously. He would be a dead man if 18 ever found out that he blabbed about this. "Okay. But you _cannot_ tell anybody else!"

...

"Do you know Android 17, Videl?"

The girl furrowed her brows in confusion. "You mean Android _18_?"

Gohan shook his head. "No. 17's her twin brother."

She vaguely recalled hearing Gohan tell her about another android during the horrors of when Cell was alive, but she didn't actually know anything else about him. "Yeah, I don't really know who he is..."

They were having a date night tonight, and were in the middle of eating their dinners at a fancy restaurant. Gohan only took a small bite of his food, remembering his public manners. He swallowed. "Okay. I was just curious."

"What?" she asked, taking a bite of her own food.

"What do you mean what?" he asked in return.

"You can't just casually mention somebody and not say anything else!"

"It doesn't matter. I couldn't have told you even if you did know him."

Videl couldn't believe her boyfriend. "Well, that just makes me all the more curious!"

He shrugged and didn't see why he couldn't tell her. "I guess it'll be fine to tell you since you don't even know who he is. So he was this pretty scary guy, right? Well, Krillin told me..."

...

Videl flew in the air with a young Saiyan by her side. Gohan was too busy studying, and Chi-Chi didn't like Goten flying out on his own, so Videl offered to take the boy over to Bulma's house to play with Trunks.

They landed on the Briefs' property and Trunks immediately rushed out the door. Bulma quickly ran out after him. "Wait! Don't you go anywhere yet!"

Bulma then realized that Videl was here today and began to speak to her. "Hey Videl! I didn't know that you'd be coming over here today. Are you practicing working with children?" She made sure to give an obvious wink.

The teen girl's face heated up very quickly. "Oh, um, Gohan couldn't bring Goten over, so I said that I would."

"Mom!" Trunks said, tugging lightly on his mother's clothing. "Can Goten and I go play now?"

"One second," she said. "I think I can take you guys down to the park today, but I want to chat with Videl real quick."

Trunks groaned because he knew that when a grown-up said something was going to be fast, that just meant that it was extra slow. Goten, however, was not as mature as Trunks and did not understand the adult lingo. He jumped up excitedly at the thought of going to a park to play.

Bulma was not going to let Videl off so easy though. "So I take it things are getting pretty serious with Gohan?"

Trunks rolled his eyes. "Mom, you can gossip later! I want to go to the park _now!_"

"And I said hold on!" she stated firmly. "Has the question of marriage popped up as an option...?"

Videl wasn't sure what to say. Yes...no...she didn't know! She was nervous and embarrassed, and just about anything would be better than this awkward conversation! She hardly even knew Bulma Brief!

"Uh..." _Think of something! Anything! How about something...funny?! _"Are you familiar with Android 17?"

The woman was surprised at this girl's words. "Yes...? Don't tell me _he's_ coming in between you guys' relationship?!"

She laughed awkwardly. "No! That's not it at all! But speaking of dating, Gohan told me a funny story about him. I'm not really supposed to tell anyone, but you can keep a secret, I'm sure. So basically..."

Ironically, Bulma, the biggest gossip out of all of them, actually managed to keep her mouth shut about this one. The two impatient children, however, decided to hang on to Videl's every word while they waited to go to the park...

...

"Goten," Trunks hissed as they stood at the top of a slide at the park. "Did you hear what Videl said?"

"I guess I did," he answered, not sure what this had to do with the game that they were playing.

"That gives me an idea," the older boy said mischievously. "You do know who Android 17 is, right?"

"Not really..." Goten admitted. "Do you?"

Trunks shrugged. "Sort of. I know that he's Android 18's twin brother. I've never met him before but..."

...

Android 17 woke up groggily to the sound of a _ding_ coming from his laptop. He didn't even realize that he had fallen asleep next to the small computer, but it was clear that he had. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the screen.

"Trisha Daves gave you a thumbs up..." he read sleepily. He blinked twice realizing what that meant. A girl was actually interested in him!

This actually wasn't his first thumbs up though. The first one came from an old man obsessed with cats and science. Android 17 quickly reevaluated his profile after that one. Perhaps putting "masculine things" under interests was not the best idea... He just wanted to sound manly enough to catch a girl's attention!

He quickly clicked on this girl's profile. It was a mess! Her spelling and grammar was awful, but he didn't even care that much. He finally had received a thumbs up from a real life girl! He looked closely at this lady's picture. Long blonde hair. Brilliant blue eyes. The photo was blurry, but 17 approved of her appearance.

He sent her a thumbs up back. Now they had a connection! And that meant that he could send her a message. He quickly typed in a few awkward words. "So you sent me a thumbs up. I sent you one back."

He was really surprised when she responded so quickly. "I saw. Ur cute."

Android 17 felt emotions fill him that he'd never felt before. He'd been especially nervous about taking that picture, but he eventually found a good selfie angle that really worked for him. And it clearly paid off!

He frowned and looked at the screen. What should he do now? He was no love expert! He panicked momentarily before getting an idea. He reached to the back of the table and picked up the phone to punch in a few quick numbers.

It rang a few times, but eventually he got an answer. He cleared his throat. "18?"

"What is it now?"

"You remember that time a few days ago when you saw that whole...dating website thing?"

"How could I forget?!" She began to give a mocking laugh before abruptly coming to a halt. "Oh no. Please don't tell me-"

"I need your advice," he said, cutting her off. "We're in the middle of a chat right now, and she just told me I was cute."

She laughed some more and 17 began to get frustrated. "I guess what they say is true. There's a first time for everything!"

He rolled his eyes. "You're too funny. But this is a serious issue right now, and I don't know what to say!"

She sighed loudly. "How am I supposed to know? I don't know what to do... Try...complimenting her...?"

He nodded and set the phone on the table next to him after pressing the speakerphone button. "Okay." He took a deep breath in and a deep breath out.

"You're cute too," he typed.

It was taking a long time for her to reply, and he got really nervous. What if she changed her mind? What if she left because she was bored? He was beginning to not like this "dating" thing as much as he thought he would. It was beginning to feel worse than getting absorbed by Cell!

Well, maybe not that bad.

But pretty close!

"How's it going?" Android 18's voice emanated from the phone.

17 states at the screen. "Not good... She hasn't replied!" _Ding! _"Wait! She just did!"

"And what does it say?" she asked impatiently. She hated having to prompt information out of her brother. He should be able to tell her these things on his own.

"I want a date w u," he read aloud, including the letters. "I guess she's asking me on a date? Shouldn't I ask her on the date though?"

"Maybe that's just her way of hinting for _you_ to ask her out, only not so subtly." 18 couldn't believe she had a twin this dense.

He felt his heart begin to race in his chest. His feet tapped the ground nervously. "Would you like to go on a date with me?"

17 waited for a response, and one came quickly this time. "Ya."

"I've got a date!" he exclaimed excitedly.

The eye roll from the blonde on the other line was practically audible. "Good for you. Do you have the details worked out? Like when and where?"

He stopped celebrating as he realized that he still had more work to do. "How does tomorrow night at Jack's Buffet sound? 6 pm?"

"Ya," was the response once again.

"Now I've really got a date!" he cheered loudly. But it wasn't over yet. "Wait! 18! What do I do now?! What do girls even like on dates?!"

She took a deep breath in and a deep breath out. "I don't know. Bring her some flowers or something." She thought about it some more. "And dress casual without looking sloppy. But make sure that it's not too formal either." One more important thing. "And do not bring your handgun with you."

His jaw dropped. "But my semi-automatic is my baby!"

"You don't use the revolver anymore?"

"Nah, I switched over to this pistol, and I immediately fell in love!"

18 began to snicker. "Then maybe you should take that pistol on a date instead of that girl."

"Shut up," he snapped. "I'm hanging up now." _Click._

A breath in and a breath out. He did it. He actually did it. And...he was totally taking his gun with him.

...

Flowers? Check.

Nice clothing? Well...his converse were a little worn, but no matter. Check.

Ignored sister's advice about pistol? He tapped the holster for his gun lightly. Check.

He searched around for someone who could possibly be Trisha. The back of a blonde head in a large floppy sunhat caught his attention. He walked up to the lady, who teetered a little bit. He held the bouquet of flowers out before him, ready to present her with them.

"Trisha?" he asked carefully. "Trisha Daves?"

The woman spun around and the first thing that 17 noticed was how unattractive she really was. Her blonde hair was such a mess that it almost looked like a wig, and it was all tangled in that giant floppy hat. Her head seemed awkwardly too little for her body. And her makeup was the sloppiest he had ever seen done. She was wearing a large, red trench coat too. He began to hope that this wasn't actually Trisha.

"Actually," she said in a squeaky, weird voice, "it's pronounced Davis."

Her voice was like fingernails on a chalkboard. He was just being shallow though. These were all her physical attributes. Maybe she was a great person. He smiled and tried to converse with her some more. "Oh. It's spelt Daves."

"And it's pronounced Davis!"

He nodded and forced himself to smile some more. "Why don't we go inside and get something to eat?"

Android 17 held the door open for her as she walked inside. Once she enterred the building, he quickly tossed the flowers in a garbage bin, which was sitting just outside of the restaurant. He made an unhappy face and entered after her. He should've known that this was a bad idea.

"So, Trisha," he said slowly after they had gotten their food and sat down at a table. "What kinds of things do you like to do?"

"Um- um..." She seemed to be a bit nervous. "Beauty."

He tried not to show any surprise on his face, but some of it probably escaped anyway. "Oh really? I can...tell..." He swallowed his disgust. He was having a really hard time being civil with this creature. "What kinds of beauty stuff do you like?"

"Just, you know, normal beauty things," she screeched in her awful voice. "You know, hair, makeup, a little bit of everything."

He nodded and tried to hold back a grimace as he gave a shaky smile. "I noticed that your eyebrows are purple and your hair is not."

Her hands quickly shot up to her eyebrows as if something were wrong, but then she tried to play it off awkwardly as if she were just playing peek-a-boo...with her eyebrows. "Peek-a-boo! They see you!" She gave an uncertain laugh. "My eyebrows are a...beauty thing. It's the fashion trend right now. Purple...eyebrows..."

Even she didn't sound too convinced.

He tapped the table, wishing for this ridiculousness to be over soon. "I noticed that you haven't eaten any of your food."

"Neither have you," she said in response.

"I'm not hungry." If he told her that he couldn't digest food than she would...well, that might not be such a bad idea actually. Maybe it would be such a turn off that she would get up and leave the restaurant.

But she beat him to speaking. "I'm not hungry either." Her horribly lipsticked lips formed a smile, which was probably a normal smile, but to 17 it looked really crooked. "I think we're pretty similar, don't you?"

He cleared his throat and pushed his plate further away from him. "Actually, Trisha, I'm an android, so I don't need to eat food."

"I know that," she said with that same crooked smile.

"You do?" he asked quickly. "How?"

She giggled in an awkward voice that somewhat resembled a pre-pubescent boy. "Well, for one thing, you entered your name in as 'Android 17,' remember?"

"Oh yeah."

He looked down at the floor, but his head shot up when he could've sworn he heard a muffled voice come from inside Trisha's trenchcoat saying, "He's kinda dumb."

He narrowed his eyes at the lady, who began to visibly get really nervous. "What did you say?"

She laughed and twirled her hair with a finger. "I was just saying that...the man behind you is pretty dumb."

Android 17 glanced at the man behind him, but he didn't notice anything that made him obviously dumb. And when he looked back at Trisha, he had to stifle his own laughter as she tried to pull her finger out from her tangled hair because of twirling it a second ago.

She finally managed to rip her finger out, along with a chunk of hair. Only, by doing that, she also shifted all of her hair over somewhat. Android 17 was just about done with this lady's craziness and even asked out loud, "Are you wearing a wig?"

"Yes..." was the slow response.

He was trying to be nice. He really was. _Oh Dende... _he prayed silently to the guardian. _I know that I don't really know you very well, but...what did I ever do to get placed in this situation?! I tried to be good! I tried to change my "evil" ways! And what do I get? This freak! You know what, Dende?! Screw this! Screw all of this!_

"Wait!" someone's voice suddenly cut into his mind.

_Dende...? Are you actually listening...?_

"Yes, as well as being mildly entertained," he said in his mind. "Don't do anything rash!"

_Why not...?_

"Because Trisha's actually-"

_A good person? I don't care! This sucks! I don't want to listen to your advice. I'm hanging up._

"You can't just hang up! It's a prayer! I-"

Android 17 hung up. He looked at Trisha, completely fed up with this date. "You know, Trisha. I thought that I didn't really have any expectations, but now that I now what they are, you've missed them by a mile."

"Well, you haven't exactly met ours either," she grumbled.

As soon as she had said it, they both instantly recognized her mess up. He locked eyes with this "woman," suddenly beginning to catch on. "Ours?"

She gave him her best smile. "Yes! Ours! I was, uh, talking about my eyes! Both of them! They had expectations and you didn't meet them!"

He discreetly pulled out his gun and held it under the table. "Oh is that so, _Trisha_?" He pressed the name like how he wanted to press the trigger of his handgun.

"Trunks, I think he's on to us," a little voice from inside the trenchcoat whispered loudly.

_Ch-chck! _"Don't. Move," he said as he whipped out his pistol.

_Bang!_ The sound of a gunshot rang throughout the restaurant, and it got silent as many heads turned in his direction. The bullet didn't actually hit "Trisha," but it did blast the floppy hat and wig off of her head.

"Put your hands in the air," he ordered the small child that had impersonated a "date" for him. Nobody around the restaurant stirred or said anything at all.

The kid lifted his arms, but the coat was so big, you couldn't even see his hands! 17 had him just where he wanted. The poor kid was sweating all of his badly done makeup off. It might've actually been an improvement though.

_Bang!_ The shot hit the bottom of one of the really large long sleeves, but the impact was enough that it caused Trisha's top half to topple over, revealing the child that was underneath the lavender-haired kid. Trunks now sat on the floor defeated, and Goten still sat nervously in the seat in front of the android.

"Well, if it isn't a mini-Goku and a young Trunks, I believe?" he asked with a menacing tone.

Finally, the manager came out to deal with the scene. "I'm sorry sir, but we, uh, have a no-shooting-the-customers-in-the-restaurant policy."

17 didn't hesitate to point the pistol in the direction of the manager as he spoke. "Is that so? Well, I'd hate to break the rules. I guess we'll just have to take our business outside." He stood out of his seat and aimed the gun from young boy to young boy. "Get up! We're going on a field trip."

The two half-Saiyans stood up out of fear and followed 17 to the outside of the restaurant. The android tossed his gun in the air with his left hand, then caught it with his right. _What to do, what to do..._

"We can take him, Trunks!" the darker-haired boy shouted. "He can't be all that tough!"

Android 17 pointed his gun at the runt who just spoke and _bang! _pulled the trigger.

...Only after quickly re-aiming it at a nearby sign. He couldn't bring himself hurt the Goku look-a-like as much as he wanted to.

"TRUNKS! GOTEN!" a loud angry voice yelled as a blue-headed woman stormed over to the restaurant from somewhere else down the street. "IS THAT YOU?! THIS IS THE LAST TIME THAT YOU'LL FLY AWAY FROM ME!"

The android man laughed as he examined his gun. "It may be their last time indeed!"

"17, that's enough!" Android 18 said as she dropped from the sky.

He glared at his sister. "How long have you been there?"

"Long enough," she vaguely answered. "I was curious to see how this date went."

"Were you in on this?" he asked, gesturing from child to child and somewhat hoping that she was. It was embarrassing to be humiliated by two young pranksters, but if his sister was involved then...it was still embarrassing, but at least he knew that he hadn't been outsmarted by just a couple of kids.

"Actually, no," she admitted this time. "And of course, you brought your gun. Why do you even use that thing? You could have just blasted them if you really wanted!"

He shrugged. "It's not as fun."

While the android twins' conversation was going on, Bulma was sure to give the two little brats an earful. Trunks wasn't afraid to ask a question though. "How did you know where to find us, Mom?"

"The answer is simple," she said with an all-knowing smile. "You forgot to click out of that dating website."

The two boys facepalmed, and Bulma gave Android 17 an earful of his own for nearly shooting the kids. "What the," she glanced at the two young boys as she carefully chose her words for the android, "_heck_ were you doing?!" Now she was staring at the blonde android. "18, control your brother!"

"Control those kids," he taunted in return. "They dressed up like two halves of a woman. I mean, what is this, some...chick flick?"

Her eyes widened in surprise at his choice of words. "You watch those too?"

Widened eyes from the woman were matched with narrowed slits from the android man. "What? No. Of course not!"

"Well, Vege-" She cut herself off before she could say anything more. Silence filled the air momentarily.

"Oh boy," Android 17 said with a laugh. "Please tell me that you were going to say that Vegeta does!"

But before she could confirm or deny it, the authorities showed up. Apparently, cops don't really like it when you pull a gun out on two little boys.

"That's my cue to leave," said 'Droid 17 as he flew away quickly. His sister took off after him as well.

One police officer walked over to Bulma. "Are these your two sons?"

"One of them, yes. The other, no."

"And what's your relation to the other, ma'am?"

"Family friend."

"And did you know the gentleman who tried to shoot these two boys?"

Bulma couldn't help but hear irony in the word "gentleman." "Actually, yes."

The cop was genuinely surprised to hear this. "And...what's your relation to him?"

She sighed loudly. "Family friend."

...

"Have you learned anything from this, 17?" 18 asked as they flew back to his cabin in the woods.

He shrugged in the air. "Online dating sucks."

She smirked. "Anything else?"

"I want to become a park ranger more than anything right now."

* * *

**Well...that was interesting! As bizarre as it was, I hope you all still enjoyed it at the very least! :)**

**-TOW**

**P.S. I have a poll up on my profile asking about which full-length story you guys would be most interested in. Check it out please! :D**


	8. Judgement

**So you might be thinking, "Is she really going to do another one involving Vegeta and Bulma?" Yes. Yes, I am. However, this one isn't really a whole lot about romance. I don't really know how to describe it lol.**

* * *

Theme #14: Judgement

_(At the Briefs' house like a lot of these so far lol. Somewhat of an AU, but it would occur after the Buu Saga.)_

"I am not going to that, and there is nothing you can say that will change my mind!" Vegeta crossed his arms and turned his head.

"Stop acting like a child!" Bulma scolded him. "This is your son we are talking about!"

He rolled his eyes. "I know, and I don't care. I am not going!"

She clenched the note from the school even harder, practically ripping the paper. "It specifically says on this paper that _all_ parents who can make it should attend. You can make it!"

"I can't make it," he simply stated. He walked over to the sofa and had a seat, trying to leave the conversation.

Bulma wasn't finished though, and she followed him to the couch. "Why wouldn't you be able to make it? Hmm?!"

"I'll be training."

Taking a deep breath in and out, she tried to approach the topic at a new angle. "Look, I know 'Career Day' doesn't sound the most interesting to you, but I can tell that this is really important to Trunks. He needs support from his father."

Vegeta leaned back in the spot that he was sitting in. "Well, 'his father' doesn't even have a career, so it'd be pointless for me to show up anyway. You're the business woman. You go!"

"They're really emphasizing for everyone to go this year though," she explained. "They even said that if a parent isn't working, they should come and talk about other things, such as previous jobs or what they do at home now instead."

He kicked his feet up on the ottoman. "That's pretty inconsiderate of those who've lost their jobs. Then they'll just talk about how miserable they are. If a bunch of people are going to be whining half the time, I especially don't want to go."

She shook her head. "No. They're not going to be whining. That's why there's the option of talking about the jobs they've previously held!"

Vegeta snorted. "Great. I'll do that. You know what my previous job was? Blowing up planets and killing a bunch of people! I'm sure the kids will love to hear that!"

She sighed and put her face in her hands. "Would you stop being so difficult? You could also talk about what you do now. You can talk about fighting and martial arts and all that good stuff! That might interest the kids!"

"Even if I did go, there's no way I would talk to a bunch of children!" He shook his head to show his disapproval. "You know that this won't go well if I attend, and yet you're still trying to pressure me into attending anyway!"

Trunks ran into the room, interrupting the conversation. "Are you guys talking about the Career Day at my school? Because if you are, Mrs. Louie said that we need the forms turned in by tomorrow for who's going to be speaking."

"I know," Bulma told the excited 11 year old. "It's all on this note to the parents that you gave me." She held the paper out to show him, and after stopping momentarily to think, she got an idea. "Hey! I've got it! Why don't both of us still go, but I'll be the only one who signs up to speak?"

Vegeta was not impressed with her thought. "No. Even if I didn't speak, I'd still have to be surrounded by a bunch of bumbling idiot children."

Trunks looked over at his father with puppy-dog eyes. "Please? All my friends' Dads are going! If you go to this, I'll always train with you right when you ask me to. I'll always do what you say." He leaned in close to Vegeta and whispered in his ear, "I'll even give you a better present than Mom for your birthday."

"Stop being so ridiculous!" he shouted. Trunks backed away as his father turned to Bulma. "You can go if you wish, but I choose to not participate."

"I'll deactivate all of your training equipment," she threatened.

His eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't."

"I would, and I will if you don't go to Career Day at the school!" She smirked as she saw worry fill his eyes. "Think about it. This is just one day that you're doing this. You're not even the one who has to talk! All I'm asking is for you to show up and support your son. One day of doing this and you can use all of your equipment. If not, then I'll deactivate it." She left room for a dramatic pause. "Forever."

It was not Vegeta's favorite thing to lose an argument, but he was not willing to give up all of his high-tech equipment. She was right. It was only for one day, and all he had to do was show up. How bad could it really be? "Fine. I'll go."

"Woohoo!" Trunks exclaimed as he pumped his fist in the air. "I'm so excited! I can't wait to tell all my friends at school that both of my parents are going to be coming! Thanks Dad! Thanks Mom!"

As their son ran off in the direction of the kitchen, Bulma shot Vegeta a smug look. "See? What'd I tell you? It means a lot to him."

...

Trunks was filled with so much excitement and nervous energy that he could hardly sit still in his seat at school. He had a perfect view of the window where the hallway was and saw that both of his parents had actually shown up. As happy as he was to see both of them, he worried for his father. Vegeta was not very good when it came to...people.

"Alright class," Mrs. Louie said, getting everyone's attention. "I think it's about time we let the parents in now. Everybody stay in your seats as they begin to enter."

She walked over to the door and invited them inside. The room was suddenly filled with adults all along the edges of the classroom, and many of the students tried to wave to their own parents. Trunks grinned at his mom, who gave him a thumbs up, but Vegeta just stared at the ground with his arms crossed.

"Welcome parents," Mrs. Louie said, turning to the adults. "I'm pleased to see the amount of people who were able to make it this year. It truly is a wonderful experience for the students to get exposure to different career and job options as they grow older. The order of who's speaking is very simple. Based on the forms that were turned in, I created a list for who is speaking when."

She ran over to her desk and grabbed a clipboard. "Let's just jump right into it! To start, we'll have Mary Sue-Ellen talk. So just tell us about what you do, maybe some of the steps to get there, and perhaps what sparked your interest to do what you do...or what you did, depending on the circumstances. Please don't take more than five minutes though!"

And so the parents began to speak, one by one, taking turns according to the list that had been prepared. The only time the kids seemed to really enjoy it, however, was when the speaker was either funny or their own parent.

Eventually it was Bulma's turn, and she walked to the front of the classroom. Vegeta just stayed behind and leaned against one of the walls, but she gestured for him to follow her up there. He shook his head, and she gestured again. Not wanting to argue in front of everyone, he gave in and walked up next to her.

"Hi guys!" Bulma said cheerily. "My name is Miss Brief, and I'm Trunks's mom. This man standing next to me is my husband, Vegeta, and he is Trunks's dad. Anyway, I am the CEO of Capsule Corporation. How many of you guys have ever used or seen a capsule before?"

Hands all over the classroom shot up. "Awesome! That's part of what my company does! We create those capsules and all sorts of other devices to make life easier for everyone."

"What interested you to take this position?" the teacher asked.

Bulma smiled. "Because it was my father's company, I was actually the rightful heiress to it once he passed it down. However, that didn't mean that I didn't have to work hard. We work closely with lots of technology, so I had to learn all of that stuff before I could inherit the company." She had concluded her small description of her job. "Any quick questions?"

None of the students raised their hands, but some idiot dad raised his voice. "I've got one! Why doesn't the short troll doll say anything? Why is he even here?!"

That man got a few chuckles, and Vegeta tensed. His temper was short, but Bulma did her best to keep him calm by placing a hand on his bicep and giving him a look that said, "He is not worth it. I'll handle it."

She made eye contact with the annoying man in the back of the class. "Watch it! You're setting a bad example for not only your child, but for the other children in this classroom. What's your name?"

He had a smug look on his face. "Jeffery Livingston."

"Oh Dende no..." she muttered under her breath.

Vegeta could hear her though. "What? Do you know this man?" He kept a hushed tone, and many of the students and parents began to converse with each other as they waited for Bulma and Vegeta to leave the front of the class.

She made a face. "Not directly. His son, Jason, had been bullying Trunks a lot though. Now I see where his jerkiness comes from..."

"Is he a problem that I should take care of?" Vegeta asked, popping his knuckles.

Bulma gulped. She knew what he meant by "take care of." "No. No. It's fine. Trunks punched him and nearly broke the kid's jaw. I got a note from the teacher, and I discussed it with Trunks, but since that day, he hasn't complained of bullies."

He actually cracked a smile. "That's my boy. But this man over there. Is _he_ a problem?"

Jeffery was getting impatient with the couple as he walked to the front. "There are other parents in here too, you know. Just go back over there. It's my turn to speak."

Vegeta turned around to face him. "We will leave when we wish, understand?"

"Looks like you can speak, troll-man. Those are some pretty bold words for such a short fellow too!" Mr. Livingston gave a nasty, nasally laugh.

Mrs. Louie could sense the tension rising between the two men, but she knew she couldn't do anything about it. She was only a teacher for these students, so she had no control over the actions of these two adults. Although she wanted to speak out, she realized that she would do more harm than good to the situation. So she thought it best to stay out of it and hoped that they would settle their dispute like reasonable, civil men.

Vegeta clenched his hands into fists. "Keep your thoughts to yourself, or I'll shove them back down your throat and see how you like it then."

Many of the kids in the class either laughed or _ohhhed_, depending on who they were rooting for. Trunks just facepalmed. He was worried something like this would happen. "Please Dad... Just stop..."

"Stay out of this!" he ordered. He kept his eyes narrowed at Jeffrey. "I'll let you speak, but let me be clear. If either you or your son says anything else that I don't agree with, then I swear I will-"

Bulma tugged on his arm and pulled him away from the conversation before he could continue the threat. "Just let it go. You've definitely scared him enough that he'd have to be an absolute moron to insult you again."

Jeffery began to speak. "Hello everyone. My name is Mr. Livingston. I am Jason's father. What I'm about to say might sound like it's a joke at first, but I promise I'm being serious. I work for a company that produces peanut butter.

"Now most of us don't just wake up and say, 'Hey! I feel like making some peanut butter!' and so I didn't either. When I was 18, they had an opening at one of the canneries, and I thought it would be a great opportunity for a job. After several years of working and many promotions, I now oversee everything that takes place in that cannery."

The prideful Saiyan scoffed. Fairly softly he said, "The man makes peanut butter. What a pathetic excuse for a job..."

Apparently it wasn't soft enough because Jeffery still heard him. "I'm sorry? Did I hear you tell me that I had a pathetic excuse for a job? What do _you_ do?"

He gritted his teeth. "I don't do anything."

The man man a falsely surprised face. "Really? Did you hear that everybody? My job is 'pathetic' and this man doesn't even have one!"

"I don't need one. Bulma owns a large and successful corporation, so we have plenty of money with quite a bit to spare too."

"Letting the woman do a man's job while the man does a woman's job, I see. She should be staying at home while you did the work. I bet you just sit around the house watching little girly chick flicks all day! How about we send the woman back to the kitchen where she belongs, am I right?"

Bulma had now had enough of this guy's talk. "If there is one thing that I can't stand, it's a chauvinist pig! So you better keep your-"

Her husband shot her a look. "This is my fight. Stay out of it." He turned to Jeffery, fuming. Vegeta was the only one who could make comments at his wife's expense. This man had no right to insult either of them.

An eerie silence rang throughout the classroom as he slowly walked toward Jeffrey. With each step, Vegeta gritted his teeth harder and harder until they could've cracked. "I wouldn't be talking about a man doing a woman's work when you make peanut butter for a living. You see, I thought about making some retort along the lines of how someone like you should go find your own kitchen, but by the sounds of it, you're already halfway there."

"Making peanut butter is not a woman's job! It is a very complicated process and-"

"Obviously it's not too complicated if you can do it."

"That does it! You're trying to fight me? Huh? Is that what? Well, I'm warning you, I've been in boxing classes before, and I work out regularly at the gym! This'll be a good fight..."

"I'm pretty sure a 'good fight' would require it to take at least more than five seconds for me to beat you."

Although Trunks was somewhat embarrassed by the actions of his father, he also really wanted to see that jerk Jason's dad get pummeled. A lot of the other kids in the class were just as interested too. Excited whispering buzzing throughout the classroom as the students began betting on whose dad would win.

Trunks let go of all shame. "Go for it Dad! Show him what you've got!" He paused. "Or not _all_ you've got because he'd probably die..."

Mrs. Louie had been pretty helpless the whole time, but she made her one attempt to control everything again. "Class! Please stay calm! Everyone stay in your seats as we get this situation figured out." She turned to the two angry men. "Can't you settle this some other way or at least somewhere else?"

"No!" they both barked at her in unison.

She stepped back and turned to Bulma for assistance. "Can you do something?"

The scientist laughed and shook her head. "Nope. Sorry. There's nothing we can do now. His temper has the best of him, and right now he's only focused on one guy. If I were to interfere, I'd probably become a target myself. I suggest we just let it play out on its own."

Mrs. Louie sighed. "I suppose so. I guess it's not everyday that you see two grown men fight each other either."

Bulma laughed inwardly as she thought to herself that she did see grown men fight each other all the time. Between the sparring and the martial arts tournaments alone, she'd had a lifetime's fill of grown men fighting.

Suddenly, Vegeta stepped back to where she was standing, and he flung his arm around her, which was odd because he wasn't one to make a lot of physical contact with her, especially not in public.

Out of nowhere, Jeffery went flying across the classroom. Nobody saw what had happened. Jeffery didn't even see what actually happened, but he knew he must've gotten thrown by that short punk. "This is your fault! You threw me across the room!"

"Really?" Vegeta asked. His arm was still casually wrapped around Bulma. "How am I supposed to do that when I'm all the way over here next to my wife?"

"You did! You did! I don't know how, but you did!"

"Can you prove that I did?"

"Well, I suddenly went flying across the classroom and-"

"But did you see me do it?"

"Um, no, but I swear-"

"Then I didn't do it."

Jeffery stood up and held his stomach. "Maybe you punched me. I don't know what you did, but I know that it was you! How else could I have gone flying across the classroom?"

Vegeta kept his arm around Bulma. "How do we know that you didn't fake it?"

"This is ridiculous!" the man exclaimed. "I don't know about you, but I don't just throw myself across the room for fun!"

"How about this," Vegeta slowly told him. He turned to face the entire class and asked, "Who here saw me throw or punch or whatever the man across the classroom?"

Nobody raised their hands except for one child. Jason Livingston. He threw his hand in the air real high and said, "I did! I saw it! You grabbed him and threw my dad across the classroom!"

"Your dad?" He smirked at the child. "Describe to me _exactly_ how I threw him."

"Uh, you, uh..." He stood up out of his seat and placed both arms out in front of him and mimed a throwing action. "Like that! You just threw him!"

"Using both hands?"

"Yep."

"That would be a little hard to do, considering the fact that I had my arm wrapped around my wife the entire time." And it still was. Many of the adults whispered around the room, murmuring their agreement.

Vegeta wasn't finished. "So not only would that have required me to move over to him at an inhuman speed, I also would have had to take my arm off of my wife, which as you can see, I still have not done."

Bulma didn't say anything, but she knew that he had done it. He could've moved at an insanely fast speed that she wouldn't have noticed him removing his arm. She knew he had done just that. Although she didn't agree with his dishonesty, she couldn't help but admire his logic-driven persuasion methods.

She gave him a small smile. "You could've become a lawyer."

He rolled his eyes and said in a hushed tone, "I have no use for human laws. I just enjoying making unintelligent life forms, like this man, recognize how pathetic they truly are."

"Mr., um..." Mrs. Louie wasn't sure what to call him. "Uh, Trunks's dad, I'm afraid that I need to send you to the...principal's office."

He raised his brows and turned to face the teacher. "I have no use for the principal! I have done nothing wrong! You saw!"

She looked around the room anxiously. "Well, uh, yes...but you're disrupting the rest of the program. The other parents still need to talk."

"I-"

"Let's just go, Vegeta," Bulma said, looking into his eyes.

"But I-"

His wife cut him off. "I know. But maybe it'd be best if we just did as the nice lady said for right now. Let's go _to the principal's office._"

He picked up on what she was saying. They would not be going to the principal's office at all. Vegeta sighed and gave in. "Okay. Fine. But only because I'm wasting my time here with these insolent-"

She covered his mouth, afraid of what sorts of things he might spew out in front of all the children. Bulma was then able to usher him out of the classroom and into the hallway. She reassured Vegeta that they didn't have to go to the proncipal's office, and that they could wait outside the class for when the program was over so they could bring Trunks home.

Trunks watched his parents as they walked out of the classroom, somehow feeling both embarrassment and pride. But most of all, he felt judgement from all of his peers and the adults in the room for being related to those two crazy people. It was this judgement that distracted him from noticing that his parents stopped walking down the hall and stayed just outside of the classroom.

Just as the class began to settle down, Jason spat a nasty comment at Trunks. "Now I see where you get your loser-side from. Your dad."

Trunks had already beaten up Jason once before, and he wasn't afraid to do it again if it meant defending his father's honor. _But Mom wouldn't want me to... _He decided to attack him with his words, not his fists...for now. "My dad's the loser? Are you sure? Your dad's the one holding his stomach like a little-"

"Boys!" Mrs. Louie interrupted. She cleared her throat. "May we continue the program? Let's pick up from whoever was after Mr. Livingston."

Jason's dad walked away from the front of the classroom and someone else stepped up and began to speak. Trunks couldn't pay attention to what the speaker was saying though. Not with Jason constantly whispering in a taunting sing-songy voice, "Your dad's a loser, and so are you! Your dad's a loser, and so are you!"

_Mom told me that I couldn't beat him up for making fun of me, but it's not just me that he's making fun of! He's also making fun of Dad. But I think that Dad would beat him up, and __Mom isn't even here anymore to see what I do._

He smiled as he looked over at Jason. Light-speed, Trunks threw a punch at the obnoxious kid, who then began to cry. The lavender-headed boy was pleased with himself, but his teacher was not.

"Trunks punched me!" Jason sobbed loudly as he held his nose.

The teacher was done with these children. "I know. Trunks Brief, I want you to go down to the principal's office with your parents. I will be calling the principal himself so that he will be expecting you all."

Trunks shrugged and walked out of the class, pleased that he at least wouldn't have to hear from that sobbing idiot anymore. He was surprised to see that his parents were not in fact at the principal's office, but were standing in the hallway, just outside of the classroom. They had heard everything.

Bulma had her arms crossed and was furious. "Trunks Brief! You know better than to punch the kids around you!"

"But he was being annoying and making f-"

"Even if they are annoying."

He sighed and looked at the ground. "I'm sorry, Mom. He deserved it though..."

"Whether you think that kid deserved it or not is not up for your judgement," she told him angrily. She looked at Vegeta who was smiling at his son and rolled her eyes. "Like father, like son. Neither of your behaviors were appropriate today."

Vegeta patted his kid on his head. "Regardless of what your mother says, I'm glad that you showed that boy up."

"Don't say that!" Bulma exclaimed. "You're just encouraging bad behavior!"

Her son rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Come on, Mom, Dad. We owe the principal a visit!"

"I'm not going there..." Vegeta bluntly stated.

Trunks tugged on his father's arm. "If we don't go, I'll be in even bigger trouble. I don't mind getting into a little, but I don't want to be suspended again."

"AGAIN?!" Bulma exclaimed. "When were you suspended?! How come I didn't hear of this?!"

He laughed nervously as he began to walk down the hallway to the office with his parents closely behind. "Again? Did I say again? I didn't mean that... We better get going quickly!"

As they walked toward the front of the school to where the principal was, the three passed by several other classrooms. The strangest thing, however, was that one of the classes had a gaping hole in one of the walls. The small family's curiosity got the best of them, and they peered inside of the hole.

"Oh hey guys!" Goku called out from across the classroom. Chi-Chi was standing next to him with an unhappy expression plastered on her face. Goten looked back from where he was sitting and waved at his best friend. Clearly, Career Day was a school-wide program.

Vegeta smirked, quickly putting two-and-two together. "What'd you do this time to screw things up, Kakarot?"

The other Saiyan man rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Apparently, I shouldn't be giving any demonstrations!"

"Goten's dad!" an authorative teacher-voice yelled out from somewhere inside the classroom. "I am sending you down to the principal's office immediately, where you will discuss the consequences of your thoughtless actions."

With the children of Goku and Vegeta attending the same school, it should not have been surprising that things just kept going wrong, especially since it was Career Day. The principal was going to have his hands full if both of the full-blooded Saiyan warriors were going to be in his office. And as for the consequences that they'll be faced with for the stupid choices that they've made? That's only up for the principal to judge.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this story! And check out the poll on my profile! :D **

**Be sure to follow/favorite/review! It would mean a lot to me. **

**-TOW**

**P.S. I am looking for an artist who can create a cover for my next story! Please PM me! Thanks! :D**


End file.
